What do you think?
Rate this book
The Sensational Alex Harvey
Alex Harvey was one of Scotland’s finest and most respected, but ultimately tragic, entertainers. Known for his uncompromising live presence and baring his soul on stage—exemplified by his manic cover versions of Tom Jones’ "Delilah" and Jacques Brel songs—Harvey’s performances were a stunning amalgam of heavy rock with circus and pantomime.
224 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2007
5 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 16, 2021
I never got to see Alex in concert. They certainly weren't playing on the radio in Minnesota in the 70's. But I discovered him somehow. I bought The Impossible Dream and Tomorrow Belongs To Me and became a HUGE Sensational Alex Harvey Band fan! Information about Alex has not always been easy to find, but this book was a very pleasant find.
May 12, 2020
Alex Harvey / The Sensational Alex Harvey Band ranked (and still do) as one of my favourite bands back in the early - mid 70s. I was lucky enough to see them play 'live' on few occasions, including the infamous 1975 Christmas shows at Glasgow's Apollo theatre.
I regularly play the various SAHB albums I own, but like so many things in our busy lives these days, it was very much a case of 'out of sight, out of mind,' when it came to reading about the band. So, when I saw this on sale in a discount book shop, it was too good a bargain to miss.
And I'm glad I picked it up.
Initially I was disappointed to read within the first ten pages, the revelations by the author that he'd never seen the band play, and that guitarist Zal Cleminson (amongst others) would not talk to him about Alex. There were no reasons given, but it was obviously their prerogative.
I did think this would detract significantly from the impact a book like this could make.
But despite these early confessions, and even though there is very little real contribution from either drummer Ted McKenna or indeed, any as I recall, from bass player Chris Glen, the book still serves a purpose.
Using music paper / newspaper quotes as well as significant contributions from Alex's second wife, Trudy and his friends / management, author John Neil Munro has managed to paint a sympathetic, yet 'warts and all' account of Alex Harvey's quest to change the face of what he saw as a sterile and boring scene that had dropped down between Glam and Punk.
Indeed, Alex's well worn path through the music industry started well before that period, and in many ways, the reader (even if unfamiliar with Alex and his work) is rooting for the wee Glasgow lad trying to make good against a backdrop of early social deprivation and a musical landscape so set in its ways.
But that some bloke about fifteen years older than the rest of his band can achieve such success, at least in a 'live' environment, lends hope to all us who have dreams to follow. They take some cultivating and an incredible amount of belief, but this book shows that dreams do come true.
I guess, though, the real trick is learning when to wake up.
I'll not say any more for fear of spoiling the read. For it IS a good read. And one that will now lead me to read more about the band and the other members as well.)
I regularly play the various SAHB albums I own, but like so many things in our busy lives these days, it was very much a case of 'out of sight, out of mind,' when it came to reading about the band. So, when I saw this on sale in a discount book shop, it was too good a bargain to miss.
And I'm glad I picked it up.
Initially I was disappointed to read within the first ten pages, the revelations by the author that he'd never seen the band play, and that guitarist Zal Cleminson (amongst others) would not talk to him about Alex. There were no reasons given, but it was obviously their prerogative.
I did think this would detract significantly from the impact a book like this could make.
But despite these early confessions, and even though there is very little real contribution from either drummer Ted McKenna or indeed, any as I recall, from bass player Chris Glen, the book still serves a purpose.
Using music paper / newspaper quotes as well as significant contributions from Alex's second wife, Trudy and his friends / management, author John Neil Munro has managed to paint a sympathetic, yet 'warts and all' account of Alex Harvey's quest to change the face of what he saw as a sterile and boring scene that had dropped down between Glam and Punk.
Indeed, Alex's well worn path through the music industry started well before that period, and in many ways, the reader (even if unfamiliar with Alex and his work) is rooting for the wee Glasgow lad trying to make good against a backdrop of early social deprivation and a musical landscape so set in its ways.
But that some bloke about fifteen years older than the rest of his band can achieve such success, at least in a 'live' environment, lends hope to all us who have dreams to follow. They take some cultivating and an incredible amount of belief, but this book shows that dreams do come true.
I guess, though, the real trick is learning when to wake up.
I'll not say any more for fear of spoiling the read. For it IS a good read. And one that will now lead me to read more about the band and the other members as well.)
September 8, 2019
Readable book with some insites
Overall enjoyed the book and recommend it to HArvey enthusiasts. It's only weakness is in the authors lack of first hand k knowledge of Alex and an over reliance on quotes from previous publications. But don't let this out you if if you seen as fascinated with this Quixotic figure as most fans are. Vamboo rules!
Overall enjoyed the book and recommend it to HArvey enthusiasts. It's only weakness is in the authors lack of first hand k knowledge of Alex and an over reliance on quotes from previous publications. But don't let this out you if if you seen as fascinated with this Quixotic figure as most fans are. Vamboo rules!
March 22, 2023
Biographies can be difficult. They are so dependant upon who the author spoke to, the insights they gave and the volume of research the biographer sourced. This biography did little to help me understand Alex Harvey as the man. There was too little insight.
I find SAHB very hit or miss, but believe when they are good, they are very good. It must be remembered this is a bio of Alex, not SAHB, but to include do little on or by his band mates felt odd. The bio left you feeling more that Alex had ‘missed’ more than he had ‘hit’ and did little to convince you of his status and abilities.
The post-SAHB section of the book felt better in creating a picture of the man, but sadly this focussed more on decline and is again perhaps a result of who the author managed to speak to.
I find SAHB very hit or miss, but believe when they are good, they are very good. It must be remembered this is a bio of Alex, not SAHB, but to include do little on or by his band mates felt odd. The bio left you feeling more that Alex had ‘missed’ more than he had ‘hit’ and did little to convince you of his status and abilities.
The post-SAHB section of the book felt better in creating a picture of the man, but sadly this focussed more on decline and is again perhaps a result of who the author managed to speak to.
January 12, 2024
All these years later I am still able to tell you the exact date I saw the Sensational Alex Harvey Band at the Liverpool Empire Theatre: 11 May 1976. Admittedly, I obtained the date from the handy list of UK tour dates at the back of John Neil Munro’s biography of the self-styled Last of the Teenage Idols, but I am still able to tell you nonetheless. Of the show itself I retain only fleeting yet startling impressions: Harvey as Hitler goose-stepping across the stage as he sang ‘Framed’, or spray-painting an imitation brick wall with graffiti before kicking his way through it.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band (SAHB to devotees and there were many) were something special in seventies rock music. They fused theatrical flair and musical eclecticism and mixed music hall with menace. Patrolling the playpen of glam they added a street-edge that presaged punk. As a performer Harvey, born and raised in the tenements of Glasgow, exuded a dangerous glamour. He was the oldest punk in town but, in his pugnacious way, preached peace and love.
His repertoire mocks the word ‘eclectic’; he must be the only artist who has covered both Jacques Brel’s Next and Crazy Horses by the Osmonds. As a reimaginer of other people’s songs he merits comparison with Nina Simone. Harvey didn’t sing songs he became them. He could take a song like Delilah, the tediously melodramatic Tom Jones number, and expertly subvert it, transplanting and transforming it from cabaret kitsch to darkly comic Gorbals nightmare in one foul swoop.
Until I came across this in a charity bookshop in Edinburgh recently I had no idea a biography of Harvey existed. Munro’s book evokes adjectives like ‘solid’, ‘well-researched’ and ‘workmanlike’ rather than ‘insightful or ‘inspired’. He doesn’t quite get to the heart of this charismatic and enigmatic man who became an overnight success when pushing forty after serving an apprenticeship of some twenty years in the business they call show.
Still, there’s plenty of interesting and informative stuff here, particularly on Harvey’s long pre-SAHB career, of which I knew little. It was certainly a varied one, encompassing Hamburg in the early sixties and West End musical theatre (he played guitar in the pit band in Hair) at the end of that decade, upmarket cabaret clubs and rock ‘n’ roll dives. All this experience and musical eclecticism finally found focus in SAHB. I hadn’t realised how much of the core SAHB repertoire had been performed and even recorded by Alex in other and earlier contexts. And I certainly didn’t know that in 1970 Harvey and Mike Oldfield were briefly in a band together. Now there’s a pairing to boggle the mind.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band (SAHB to devotees and there were many) were something special in seventies rock music. They fused theatrical flair and musical eclecticism and mixed music hall with menace. Patrolling the playpen of glam they added a street-edge that presaged punk. As a performer Harvey, born and raised in the tenements of Glasgow, exuded a dangerous glamour. He was the oldest punk in town but, in his pugnacious way, preached peace and love.
His repertoire mocks the word ‘eclectic’; he must be the only artist who has covered both Jacques Brel’s Next and Crazy Horses by the Osmonds. As a reimaginer of other people’s songs he merits comparison with Nina Simone. Harvey didn’t sing songs he became them. He could take a song like Delilah, the tediously melodramatic Tom Jones number, and expertly subvert it, transplanting and transforming it from cabaret kitsch to darkly comic Gorbals nightmare in one foul swoop.
Until I came across this in a charity bookshop in Edinburgh recently I had no idea a biography of Harvey existed. Munro’s book evokes adjectives like ‘solid’, ‘well-researched’ and ‘workmanlike’ rather than ‘insightful or ‘inspired’. He doesn’t quite get to the heart of this charismatic and enigmatic man who became an overnight success when pushing forty after serving an apprenticeship of some twenty years in the business they call show.
Still, there’s plenty of interesting and informative stuff here, particularly on Harvey’s long pre-SAHB career, of which I knew little. It was certainly a varied one, encompassing Hamburg in the early sixties and West End musical theatre (he played guitar in the pit band in Hair) at the end of that decade, upmarket cabaret clubs and rock ‘n’ roll dives. All this experience and musical eclecticism finally found focus in SAHB. I hadn’t realised how much of the core SAHB repertoire had been performed and even recorded by Alex in other and earlier contexts. And I certainly didn’t know that in 1970 Harvey and Mike Oldfield were briefly in a band together. Now there’s a pairing to boggle the mind.
June 1, 2025
This autobiography was well worth reading.
I only knew his commercial hit of "Boston Tea Party" from when I was a teenager and although I had heard various covers that he did, I had no interest in such things and merely passed them by. However, there is a lot that he has done which which are not covers and his theatrical antics are something else in themselves.
It was the type of book that once I started that I didn't want to put down and I am not a great book reader.
Thoroughly recommended!
I only knew his commercial hit of "Boston Tea Party" from when I was a teenager and although I had heard various covers that he did, I had no interest in such things and merely passed them by. However, there is a lot that he has done which which are not covers and his theatrical antics are something else in themselves.
It was the type of book that once I started that I didn't want to put down and I am not a great book reader.
Thoroughly recommended!
December 23, 2013
An excellent Book on all but forgotten Hero Alex Harvey was huge in the Seventies there was no one like him and the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, He died penniless and alcoholic unable to cope with the loss of his band and the deaths of his Brother Les & later his Manager. He was a Complex but clearly loveable bloke who for this reader Left a great Legacy of Music and a great gig Memory seeing SAHB at The Colston Hall in Bristol in 1976 If you have never heard of Alex Harvey check him out.
October 14, 2013
Alex Harvey was a musician ahead of his time. The theatrics of his live shows never transferred to recorded vinyl that well. If he had survived a mere five years and the dawn of music video...his dreams of superstardom might have been realized. Interesting bio with a sad ending.
Read
April 11, 2010The Sensational Alex Harvey by John Neil Munro (2002)
September 17, 2015
started off well then deteriorated into a who's who. wanted more about Alex life. photos were good and brought back memories of seeing sahb live at parkhead.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews