The Ox: The Last of the Great Rock Stars: The Authorised Bio

[ronmanager]

Amazon UK has the authorised biography of John Entwistle listed, planned to come out this time next year.

Not many details available yet, sounds very interesting though:

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Constable (17 Oct. 2019)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1472129385
ISBN-13: 978-1472129383

About the Author
Paul Rees is a former award-winning Editor of the fabled British rock weekly Kerrang! and was Editor-in-Chief of Q magazine for ten years. His work has also appeared in such publications as the Sunday Times Culture, the Observer, the Sunday Times Magazine, the Telegraph, the Sunday Express and Classic Rock.

He is the author of six previous books, among these the best-selling Robert Plant: a Life, The Three Degrees: the Men Who Changed British Football Forever, which was long-listed for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, and The Gospel According to Luke.

[4ctmam]

So who is it authorised by? John's family?

[WhoFanatic]

I've read the author's book on Robert Plant (here's my review of it --> rnrchemist.blogspot.com/2015/10/book-review-robert-plant-life.html). It was pretty good, not great but solid. Interested to see what he can come up with for John since he's the only one we don't have either an autobiography or a definitive bio (i.e. Tony Fletcher's Moon book) for.

[ronmanager]

This made me think that there was a thread on Entwistle biography project in this forum:

whochat.proboards.com/thread/10939/entwistle-biography-help-discussion-thread

I wonder if these are related at all or the project mentioned in the earlier thread was just called off?

[larry]

I'm looking forward to this, but it has a dopey subtitle: "The Last of the Great Rock Stars". Really?

[ronmanager]

The cover for the book has been posted by Amazon:

[larry]

Oct 23, 2018 7:51:53 GMT 4ctmam said:

So who is it authorised by? John's family?

As per Amazon's description, it was his family and The Who management.

"It is an unequivocal fact that in terms of rock bands, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Who represent Year Zero; the beginning of all things, ground-breakers all. To that incontrovertible end, John Entwistle, the Who's beloved bassist, is also without question one of the most important and influential figures in the annals of rock.

John Entwistle was a rock star in most everything that he was seen to do and of the grand old school - all swagger, joie de vivre and boundless consumption.

With the full co-operation of the Entwistle family and the Who's long-term management, Trinifold, The Ox will shine a long overdue light on one of the single greatest, and most impactful, figures in rock history."

[ronmanager]

According to Amazon, the release date has been pushed back to next year:

This title will be released on March 12, 2020.

[ronmanager]

Looks like the cover has (thankfully) been reconsidered, at least for the US market:

[ronmanager]

Constable charges in for biography of Who bassist Entwistle

[WhoFanatic]

Sept 6, 2019 17:27:58 GMT ronmanager said:

Looks like the cover has (thankfully) been reconsidered, at least for the US market:

And the subtitle, too...much better than that brutal original one!

[alvin]

I am only interested in this book if it includes rare unseen live shots of the band from the seventies that show Keith Moon and his drums in the images or good live shots of Entwistle. And rare group live shots of course.

[Ineedanewname]

Dec 19, 2019 3:40:32 GMT alvin said:

I am only interested in this book if it includes rare unseen live shots of the band from the seventies that show Keith Moon and his drums in the images or good live shots of Entwistle. And rare group live shots of course.

As it's been undertaken with family involvement I guess there's a chance you may be in luck. I'm more interested to see if it contains extracts from the book JE himself once claimed to be working on.

[ronmanager]

Daily Mail: The Who bassist John Entwistle led a riotous life that ended in a very rock 'n' roll death, as a rollicking new biography reveals

[ronmanager]

The Observer: The Ox by Paul Rees review – the Who’s bass player behaving badly

[ronmanager]

Daily Express: John Entwistle: The strong, silent bassist who never failed to settle a score

[ronmanager]

Finished the book few days ago. I have to say i enjoyed it a lot. Drew a picture of Entwistle as quite an enigma to people around him. On one hand, a gentleman, a family man who had an expensive taste on everything. On another, a restless soul who loved to be on the road with all the mayhem and partying, never feeling fulfilled and totally content.

To me the book was well-written and researched, with many people around John interviewed (Pete and Roger were only quoted from their autobiographies), very enjoyable and interesting read. One error that I spotted was the mention of (page 275) an incident from from the 1898 tour: "At Houston Astrodome on 2 September, the penultimate night of the North American leg, Daltrey vented his frustrations in front of the audience. Over his microphone, he repeatedly instructed Entwistle to turn down. Entwistle finally reacted, taking off his bass, throwing it to the floor and storming off." It is followed by Bill Curbishley's quotes about John walking backstage and jumping off.

I've certainly read about this before, but I'm sure it happened earlier than on The Who on Ice tour.

Definitely recommend anyway!

[WhoFanatic]

I've been meaning to share my review of this book. I liked it...I didn't LOVE it. While I enjoyed it, it was also disappointing as I felt as though it should have been a lot better than it was (good as it was). Here's my more detailed review (link goes to my site) -->

rnrchemist.blogspot.com/2020/07/book-review-ox-authorized-biography-of.html

[ronmanager]

Sept 14, 2020 19:23:12 GMT WhoFanatic said:

I've been meaning to share my review of this book. I liked it...I didn't LOVE it. While I enjoyed it, it was also disappointing as I felt as though it should have been a lot better than it was (good as it was). Here's my more detailed review (link goes to my site) -->

rnrchemist.blogspot.com/2020/07/book-review-ox-authorized-biography-of.html

Excellent review!
Very good point that there is, in fact, very little about his playing and techniques in the book. Probably because I don't have any musical talent at all, I didn't really realize it was missing I agree with your review that it didn't reach its full potential, maybe it has been edited down page-wise?

I enjoyed straight and honest approach towards John, not sugarcoating anything.

[WhoFanatic]

Sept 15, 2020 15:06:16 GMT ronmanager said:

Sept 14, 2020 19:23:12 GMT WhoFanatic said:

I've been meaning to share my review of this book. I liked it...I didn't LOVE it. While I enjoyed it, it was also disappointing as I felt as though it should have been a lot better than it was (good as it was). Here's my more detailed review (link goes to my site) -->

rnrchemist.blogspot.com/2020/07/book-review-ox-authorized-biography-of.html

Excellent review!
Very good point that there is, in fact, very little about his playing and techniques in the book. Probably because I don't have any musical talent at all, I didn't really realize it was missing I agree with your review that it didn't reach its full potential, maybe it has been edited down page-wise?

I enjoyed straight and honest approach towards John, not sugarcoating anything.

Thanks!

I definitely agree that it was refreshing that he didn't sugarcoat John, just presented him warts and all. But for someone who was appointed the official biographer by the Entwistle family and who had access to his archives and family, it just felt like it fell short of the mark. Maybe I was expecting too much to expect it to be more like Tony Fletcher's fantastic Moon bio, but for me it was a bit lacking. Still, I'm very glad to have it and overall, it was still a very good book and a must-read for any Who fan.