I re-read it (again) this week and I have to say - I think it is such a special book - it's the ultimate story told my an exceptional storyteller = great combination. Arguably my favorite Stones book - *highly* recommended if you do not already have it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-11-12 17:01 by hbwriter.

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hbwriter
I re-read it (again) this week and I have to say - I think it is such a special book - it's the ultimate story told my an exceptional storyteller = great combination. Arguably my favorite Stones book - *highly* recommended if you do not already have it.

reading your post makes me want to re-read it. different, but similar to, Stanley Booth's book. do you like it as well? interested in your perspective as a journalist.

I liked Booth's a lot - but not as much as German's - the structure of Booth's I found sort of jarring and I do think he tended to dwell on himself too much - in German's case his personal story is essential by definition given what he is doing - there was an aspect to Booth's personality that, at times, rubbed m a bit the wrong way - but it's still an essential read of course. I also factor in that Bill and I are of similar age, both New Yorkers - he was very easy to relate to in the book and I enjoy knowing him now - a thoroughly likeable guy. And of course, given all that is happening now with the Stones, his observations seem even more relevant and timely -- all the great personality detail - I wish he had the same access today - we'd all be better for it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-11-12 06:45 by hbwriter.

Completely agree, fantastic read for fans, extraordinarily insightful on many fronts. And yes wouldn't it just be great if he did still have that access, I loved the era as a fan when his newsletter (B was in production and miss it a lot.

Yep a fascinating read, but it's not "Under My Thumb", but rather "Under Their Thumb" ;-)



And for those who had missed it here is a "comic strip" review/illustration of the book that I bumped into again yesterday by accident:





Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2012-11-12 12:34 by gotdablouse.

Very nice indeed

-------------------
Keep On Rolling

This was the Guardian's "Digested Read" ie piss take, of Bill's book.

I was just 14 in 1979 when my sister told me no one cares about old rock dinosaurs anymore and sold me her Rolling Stones albums. I knew then I was going to devote my life to the band by writing the fanzine Beggar's Banquet. Every day I would discover some fascinating new facts, such as what toilet paper they used, and you can imagine my surprise when I saw a photo of Keith holding a copy of Beggar's Banquet. Before then nobody knew he could read upside-down.


Within four years I was part of the inner sanctum. "Your magazine is so mind-blowingly anodyne, it's a perfect fit with our music," Mick said. "Here's the deal. You pay all your own costs and continue not to rock the boat of Rolling Stones Plc and we'll treat you like shit."

It wasn't easy dealing with the band's egos. Mick would either ignore me or ignore me, while Keith was either stoned or stoned, but I understood the deal. They were anti-capitalist rock stars and I was stupid enough to allow myself to be stood up for months on end, before occasionally being invited round to their hotel rooms if they couldn't be bothered to get out of bed to turn down the TV.

I got on best with Keith. "We all use pseudonyms so fans can't disturb us, maaan," he said. "Mine's Mr Fixit. You can be Mr Gullible Loser." Woody was also great fun when he was completely pissed. I'll never forget his 45th birthday when he saw a baby in a pram and said, "I'm going to shag that in 20 years' time." "Not if I get in there first," Bill laughed. Happy days.

Beggar's Banquet became a much better read once I got close to the band, and the issue that I devoted to a detailed examination of Keith's faeces saw circulation rise to a heady 17. Things improved still further when Woody asked me to help him write a book. "I've been paid an advance of $100,000," he said, "and if you do all the work I'll give you $100." I didn't dare tell him I would have done it for nothing, and the thrill I got when I saw my name in the acknowledgements was only matched by that I got when I saw Keith was using an unread copy as a doorstop.

At times, my insistence on editorial independence stretched my relations with the band to breaking point. Obviously I would never have written about their drug use, affairs, or that they were all self-obsessed hypocrites, because that wasn't interesting. But I did come close to breaking up the band with my story that it had been Keith, not Mick, who had twiddled one of the knobs in the recording studio. However, I like to delude myself that my refusal to be cowed won the band's respect.

I first started to feel the Stones might be selling out on the 1989 Steel Wheels Tour, but once Keith explained to me how it was only fair the fans got ripped off and that it was good for my independence if I paid him for any tickets he gave me, that I came round to his way of thinking. I even got to see the funny side of the road crew using me as a drugs mailbox in Japan.

After the tour, when the band members were working on their brilliantly forgettable solo albums, I began to wonder once more if there wasn't more to life than being a groupie, but I realised how much they needed me and carried on for their sake. Especially after Woody sold me an "Access Almost No Areas" laminate that would enable me to eat pasta with Milli Vanilli at the gigs.

It was in New York in 1999, when Sony said they didn't want me to do a daily three-hour radio show about the Stones, that I finally decided I'd had enough. I just didn't know how to tell Keith. "No one ever asked you to do any of this crap," he shrugged. I danced for joy. I had finally been given permission to stop Beggar's Banquet and I am still touched that Keith turned up five days late for the farewell party to say, "So long, sucker" in person. Finally I was free to explore new opportunities. Shame I couldn't find any.

The digested read, digested: Billy No Mates.

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hbwriter
I liked Booth's a lot - but not as much as German's - the structure of Booth's I found sort of jarring and I do think he tended to dwell on himself too much - in German's case his personal story is essential by definition given what he is doing - there was an aspect to Booth's personality that, at times, rubbed m a bit the wrong way - but it's still an essential read of course. I also factor in that Bill and I are of similar age, both New Yorkers - he was very easy to relate to in the book and I enjoy knowing him now - a thoroughly likeable guy. And of course, given all that is happening now with the Stones, his observations seem even more relevant and timely -- all the great personality detail - I wish he had the same access today - we'd all be better for it.

Over the years, I have read several books on the Stones and I tend to view this one as being at the top of the heap. German not only details an important (and under reported) time period during the band's history, but his access, and ultimate friendships with the band (especially with Keith and Ronnie) resulted in some great revelations and insights that could only come from someone who was on the inside. Sadly, even though he may have been an "insider", his experiences were not always positive. At one level, I was sad for him as I felt that he was manipulated by forces beyond his control, attributable to the giant Stones corporate machine. But then again, these revelations only add to the total picture of what life was like inside the Stones organization. Anyway, it is a great read...

Pheldge's is good also

When the writer actually knows them, it helps.

Quote
gotdablouse
Yep a fascinating read, but it's not "Under My Thumb", but rather "Under Their Thumb" ;-)



And for those who had missed it here is a "comic strip" review/illustration of the book that I bumped into again yesterday by accident:

ah, sorry - fixed! and thanks for the comic post - i like how "enraged mick" looks sort of like a Grrr monkey

I really enjoyed reading the book. But I also found myself getting more depressed as it progressed. All of the corporate/rip-off/souless/big-business/marketing nonsense laid bare for all to see.
I was under no illusion about what they've become - but it was sad to see it all there, in black and white.
Fair play to Bill German for sticking things out for so long but boy, did he take some shit.
The current furore over scandalously high ticket prices is nothing new it seems ... talk about trashing your legacy. Still, there's always the small matter of some the greatest music ever recorded as consolation.

One of my faves if not my not one. It tells the untold stories of those years. We just need one that tells 96 to today.

JumpingKentFlash

i feel that towards the end, when he was fed up with it all, Bill was after all gaining respect from Mick´s camp , who are the ones that really run the show.
I think they were starting to realise that he was not a druggie or a Keith hanger on.
I wonder what would have happened if he had remained being around the Stones as a more mature figure, etc
Maybe he was now working for them.....like a Jane Rose or something similar

Has anyone heard from Bill German recently ? Nothing on his blog...oh I was on the billgerman page, but bbonline has news : [www.beggarsbanquetonline.com]

we had a great chat today - he's been traveling doing book appearances

I about choked on my food from laughing when I read this one:

Woody was also great fun when he was completely pissed. I'll never forget his 45th birthday when he saw a baby in a pram and said, "I'm going to shag that in 20 years' time." "Not if I get in there first," Bill laughed. Happy days.

A nice read. But not much more. Many better ones to me.
But each to his own of course . .