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Моят живот с легендите на рока

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Тони Кинг напуска училище едва шестнайсетгодишен, за да даде начало на музикалната си кариера в „Дека Рекърдс“. Животът му се преобръща коренно и вече няма нищо общо със спокойните юношески години в родния Истборн.

Впоследствие Кинг се превръща в изключително влиятелна фигура в музикалните кръгове на Лондон и Ню Йорк. В продължение на шест десетилетия той работи с легенди като Бийтълс, Дъ Ронетс, Елтън Джон и Роулинг Стоунс. Но бляскавата кариера крие в себе си куп разочарования, както и множество сътресения в личен план. Кинг става пряк свидетел на ужасяващата СПИН епидемия, сред чиито жертви е и легендарният фронтмен на Куийн и негов приятел Фреди Меркюри, до когото стои неотлъчно през последните му дни.

В разтърсващо емоционалните си спомени „Моят живот с легендите на рока“ прочутият промотър рисува интимни портрети на едни от най-големите имена в историята на рока и описва ярката следа, която самият той оставя в непредсказуемия свят на шоубизнеса.

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Published August 1, 2025

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Tony King

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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
Profile Image for Габриела Щинова.
116 reviews12 followers
September 28, 2025
"През 1991 година след края на турнето Stel Whet, отидох да живея в Париж. Обожавах този град и винаги съм имал романтична представа за него.
Виждах се как седя в "Кафе дьо Флор" и чета "Хералд Трибюн".
Бях работил в Париж за Мик, когато "Ролинг Стоунс" бяха там, а и Елтън имаше апартамент, в който понякога отсядах. Така че да се преместя, ми се стори добра идея - нещо различно, нова страница.
Намерих си мансарда с мъничко балконче, недалеч от Рю Монторгьой,
в района на Халите. Сега тази улица е доста известна, има пазар, ресторанти и кафета, но по онова време едва започваха да слагат настилката, за да стане пешеходна.

Мислех, че там ще съм щастлив.
Оказа се точно обратното. Париж ме натъжаваше. И то много.
Кpаcотата на града беше почти непоносима. В началните стихове от текста на песента "I Left My Heart in San Franciso" ce говори за красотата на Париж, но на това място в песента аз винаги чувах „самотата“.
Парижани не са сред най-дружелюбните хора и много бързо се почувствах откъснат от света."


"Фреди взе слушалката.
- Отивам да живея в Париж.
— Знам. Ще можеш ли да дойдеш да ме видиш?
И така се върнах в Лондон да го видя.
Той искаше да ме заведе на обяд така че излязохме. Искаше да купи някои неща. Каза ми:„Видях нещо за апартамента ти в Париж. И ми купи маса и скрин, които още пазя, разбира се.
Фреди се беше запалил да купува произведения на изкуството. Преглеждаше каталози и поръчваше да
наддават от негово име.
- Не мога да повярвам, че го правиш - възкликнах аз, като видях за какви цени става въпрос.
Той отвърна:
- Ами за какво друго да си харча парите?
Купи произведение на Тисо от „Кристис"- зашеметяваща картина на жена, която държеше в рамка в долния край на леглото си.

- Погледни я, миличък — посочваше ми я,- не е ли възхитителна?

Възхитителна беше."
Profile Image for Yoana.
437 reviews15 followers
June 18, 2024
I'm not a fan of memoirs in general, so I don't really have a frame of refence to judge this, but it read like longform gossip to me. King goes through his life, which has been eventful and exciting, relating anecdotes about John Lennon, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Freddie Mercury - curious because of who they are about but in reality mostly unremarkable. There is no overarching theme or throughline to the book, just his reminiscing. I actually found the stories from his personal life and his descriptions and opinions on music more engaging than the stories with/about the stars.

ETA: During translation, I got a bit deeper into it, and I found his outlook rather worthwhile. There's wisdom there. The chapters on AIDS are devastating, there's real raw emotion there.

Here's a playlist I made for the book, with the songs that seem to have meant the most to Tony King. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2ks...
Profile Image for Dylan.
16 reviews
July 12, 2023
I had high hopes for this memoir, given that Tony King had one of the best seats in the house for much of the 60s and 70s.
While he's undoubtedly a lovely guy, unfortunately his anecdotes and descriptions don't often venture beyond the superficial.

On John Lennon "But John was special, too. I always say that, of the Beatles, he was the Jose Mourinho-the special one."
On Ed Sheeran "Ed was often around the office back then. He's a lovely guy, modest and sweet. And he loves cats."
And at times I'd catch myself reading in Alan Partidge's voice... "Charlie Watts, I'm afraid, was taking smack, which wasn't such a great thing to be around."


Profile Image for Steven Pollack.
62 reviews
May 31, 2025
Some nice anecdotes from a man who worked with The Beatles, Stones and many others. Comes across as a really nice chap who has the ability to get on with everybody. Worth reading if you enjoy the 70s, 80s music scene.
Profile Image for Gesine.
103 reviews13 followers
May 7, 2023
Amazing life, fantastic stories. Great ghostwriter!
220 reviews2 followers
February 12, 2023
Full disclosure: I have known Tony King since the mid-1970s.

Tony King has a fascinating life story to tell.

He spent more than sixty years in the music industry working as promotion man, creative director, label chief and personal manager to some of the biggest stars out of the UK.

The Tastemaker has a nice conversational tone. It is warm, full of good humor and insight like the man himself.

He takes you through the early days of rock and roll in London, handling American acts on their UK tours, working with the Beatles and the Stones, knowing Elton when he was still Reg.

Tony eventually repairs to America where he works with John Lennon and Ringo Starr on their solo work.

By the last 1970s he is in New York. A gay man living in Greenwich Village, he is at ground zero for the AIDS crisis. The telling of living through that is the best and most touching section of the book.

From John to Mick to Charlie Watts to Lulu to Freddie to Elton, Tony has stories to share but he is never salacious or malicious.

A charming read all around.
Profile Image for Vicki.
26 reviews
March 2, 2023
A lovely book full of warmth and fascinating anecdotes. The conversational style made it feel like chatting with the most interesting person at a party. I didn't want it to end!
74 reviews
June 23, 2023
Very few interesting sentances just who he met and had dinner with, reads as name drop book. Would have liked more detail about the roles he had in the industry.
Profile Image for David Taplin.
Author 5 books1 follower
December 6, 2024
Very much my era so I was keen to get a genuine insider's view. Sadly a lot of what could have been written was clearly withheld but, to an extent, I understand that. That said I felt I wasn't left with much I didn't know or indeed wanted to hear. We all know how precious and temperamental Elton John can be. We all know what a drunken pleb John Lennon could be. That said we did get the inside gossip on Bennie the cat, and those visits to a place called the Cock Ring were mentioned. And the name dropping!! I quote - "I was at Calvin Klein's house watching him, John Reid, David Geffen and Sandy Gallin trying to get a barbecue going. It was hilarious." Let me give you clue, Tony darling, it may have been hilarious at the time but it's mind-numbingly boring to read about. And that time John Major asked you to get him a cup of tea! That anecdote had me rolling on the floor clutching my sides.

But what spoiled the reading experience was the author's repeated insistence on letting us know what a good-looking, charming, hard-working and innovative chap he has been over the decades. Apparently so beloved has he been and so crucial were his personal and professional contributions that a goodly proportion of modern culture would simply not have taken place were it not for him.

The view from Tony King's vantage point on the inside of modern music should have made this one of the best books of this kind ever. How he has managed to write something so boring is quite an achievement.
Profile Image for Anastasiia Serhiienko.
8 reviews
September 9, 2024
Чудові мемуари одного з найяскравіших продюсерів, що працював з такими зірками як The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elton John... Це спогади людини з величезним досвідом у піарі та креативі та яскравим життям пліч-о-пліч з зірками світового масштабу, яких Тоні Кінг «підсвітив» завдяки своєму смаку та таланту відчувати потенційний прорив. Книга сповнена гумору, цікавих роздумів, рок-н-рольного закулісся, трошки суму, зокрема, через біографію самого Тоні Кінга: зростання у часи війни, усвідомлення гомосексуальності, що у 50ті роки вважалось маргінальним, втрата близьких друзів через епідемію СНІДу… в той же час, це не руйнівний сум, який поглинає та тягне на дно, навпаки, тут дуже багато світлої рефлексії, любові, поваги до своїх рідних, до своїх зіркових клієнтів та друзів.

Ця книга – це інтелігентна подорож назад у часі, де згадується багато різних музикантів (не тільки рок-н-рольних), цікавих персонажів, ключові студії , пісні та альбоми, визначні концерти та події. Звісно ж, з sex&drugs&rocknroll - присутнє все :)

Дуже люблю, коли до таких книжок додають фото, тут вони також є!

Радію, що у нас переклали ці мемуари та сподіваюсь, що дійдуть і до інших (наприклад Inside Out Pink Floyd Ніка Мейсона).

Дякую за цю книгу, Лабораторіє!
Profile Image for Anna_nke.
94 reviews27 followers
October 22, 2024
Є люди, які вміють розповідати історії і у них навіть звичайний похід в магазин перетворюється на неймовірну пригоду, що ж казати про минуле з бурхливим світом рок-н-ролу.

Тоні Кінг, на жаль, не з таких оповідачів і його книга більше схожа на сухий перелік з ким він встиг попрацювати чи познайомитись.
«Ми ходили в кіно, а разом з нами ще були *імʼя, імʼя, імʼя*, а після цього ми подружились». «Я почув *назва пісні* , мені сподобалось, і потім вона стала гітом», «тоді я працював з *імʼя*, він мене познайомив з *імʼя*, ми стали ��обрими друзями»

«Памʼятаю фантастичну геловінську вечірку: вони приперли здоровенний ящик жіночих речей, і кожен мав щось обрати і вдягнути.»©️
— все, це вся історія про цю вечірку. Фантастично, правда?

Приблизно так само описано і різні концерти.
Ти просто не відчуваєш тієї енергетики і читаєш перелік імен та подій. Якісь цікаві моменти тут є, але їх дуже мало.

При цьому книга дійсно наповнена музикою, тут згадано велику кількість пісень та гуртів, і якщо не лінуватись їх ґуґлити можна суттєво поповнити плейліст.

Не знаю кому могла б порекомендувати ці спогади: якщо ви фанат тієї епохи — то навряд дізнаєтесь щось нове.
Якщо ж ви нічого не знаєте про музику 60-70х — то побачите лиш калейдоскоп (здебільшого) незнайомих імен.

🐉 Книжкова Драконка
Profile Image for Alyona Tokarieva.
40 reviews1 follower
March 15, 2025
Тоні Кінг у своїх мемуарах розповідає багато цікавих, місцями дивних, подекуди сумних, але зазвичай кумедних історій про своїх зіркових друзів, колег та кумирів - Елвіса Преслі, The Beatles (про всіх загалом та кожного окремо), The Rolling Stones, Елтона Джона та багатьох інших. Перед очима постає пістряве життя музичної індустрії Америки та Британії 60х на тлі тогочасних історичних подій. Тоні був одним із лідерів лондонської і нью-йоркської гей-тусовки в епоху бурхливих соціальних, технологічних і культурних змін. Тому тут не тільки про музику, але й про прийняття себе, про дружбу, про кохання, про втрати, про ВІЛ...

⭐️ 7/10 суб'єктивно та 10/10 об'єктивно. Книга буде цікавою для справжніх поціновувачів музики тих років, які мають базове уявлення про тогочасну індустрію. Для мене було накидано забагато незнайомих імен у невеликій за обсягом книзі, в яких я постійно плуталась 😅 Але, тим не менш, від історій про бітлів та Елтона я кайфанула 🤍
Profile Image for bojana.
226 reviews17 followers
August 26, 2023
i remember descriptions of tony from elton john's autobiography, and it was immediatelly clear how immersed he was in the scene. tony was a guest on probably the best beatles podcast there is (something about the beatles), where he promoted the book and i knew it is a must-read for me.
what a life! even the beginning of it (his insane family life, there can be a book just about that) was compelling. i am taking one star off because his stories, while amazing and insane, always end on a superficial side. from his interview i got the impression that he is a kind of person who doesn't like to air his friends' laundry, dirty or clean, to the public, which makes his stories a bit more one dimensional, but then again, made him remain in the epicentre of music for so long. great guy.
Profile Image for Andriana.
239 reviews10 followers
March 25, 2025
Ніби й сподобалась, але залишила дивне враження. З одного боку, це справді цікава подорож крізь десятиліття музичної індустрії, розказана людиною, яка бачила її зсередини. З іншого - надто суха, ніби хроніка успіху, але без емоцій.
Так, багато важливих подій, цікавих постатей, історій про те, як будувалася індустрія, але бракує саме атмосфери.
Хотілось як у Вейкмана чи Річардса, хотілось за лаштунки, кумедних історій з розмахом, якогось зіркового харизматичного балагану.
Нічого подібного. Геть нема таких відчуттів.
Подано все як рвана хронологія, постійний перелік імен, ще більше імен, дат.
Притаскала в плейлист трохи нового чи забутого старого і на тім все

Але я знову хочу все це слухати, за це всі мої зірки (ну добре, може ще за те, як моя мала смішно танцює під Сатісфекшн ролінгів на кухні чи придумує неіснуючі слова для Here Comes the Sun)
Profile Image for Valerie.
35 reviews
August 11, 2025
Andrew's office was in Ivor Court, just off Baker Street. Technically, it wasn't meant to be an office and was actually registered as an apartment. In order to continue the conceit, he put a single bed in my office, just in case anyone ever asked. It was meant to be there for show, but the Stones began to make use of it.

Early on when I was working there, I got into the office one morning and put the lights on, only to discover a blinking and bleary Keith Richards staring out at me from under the covers. ‘Oh, hello’, I said, not quite sure what to say. 'How are you?’ Classic Keith, he groaned and said, 'Ooh, OK.’ ‘Do you want me to wake you up later with a cup of tea?’ I asked. ‘Yeah, all right,' Keith said, turning back over. (p.62)
Profile Image for Mark Lieberman.
Author 3 books10 followers
May 4, 2023
I saw this book as an advertisement on my Kindle, and when I read the description and the names of Elton John, John Lennon, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Freddie Mercury, and more, I was intrigued and instantly purchased it.

A lot of the autobiographies/biographies books I have this year have been either been sports related or music related, and I am absolutely fine with that.

I really enjoyed learning more about Tony King and am very jealous of everything he has done with the musicians and bands that I mentioned earlier. He is a great storyteller, and I especially enjoyed reading about the Rolling Stone tours he was on.
179 reviews
May 14, 2023
Whilst I enjoyed the book and its topic I didn’t give it top marks because as I got further into it, it seems to get more and more fantastical and somewhat unbelievable. The author seems to have been friend with absolutely every famous person - whether in the pop industry or anything else, could sort any and I mean issue for all these stars and never ever failed at anything. Interesting but eventually just a little too much for me eventually
107 reviews
January 6, 2025
I was not familiar with Tony King, but the scope of his career and the overlap with people I do know drew me in.
An easy read that covers Tony's career in the music business and also his personal story. It includes many interesting anecdotes, often involving some of the biggest stars from the 60's and 70's. A very interesting life
Profile Image for Rhian Dickinson.
1 review
February 21, 2023
I read this on the train going to and from work over the course of a week and felt like I got to know Tony King in the process. It was a delight to read about his career journey in his own words, and what a fantastical life he has led.
Profile Image for Barry Hammond.
696 reviews27 followers
April 15, 2024
Tony King left school at sixteen as a devoted Elvis fan and, instead of becoming an unemployed laborer, quickly rose through jobs in record stores and the record business to becoming a friend and confidant of the biggest stars in the business due to his ear for music and the honesty of his opinions. From Ketty Lester, Chris Montez, Roy Orbison, Brenda Lee, Neil Sedaka, Cliff Richards, The Beatles, Andrew Loog Oldham, The Rolling Stones, The Ronettes, Phil Spector, Elton John, to Freddie Mercury of Queen and into the disco era, Tony King was in the center of a musical and cultural revolution. He worked on twenty years of Rolling Stone tours, held jobs in a myriad of record companies, worked with recording artists, did PR, helped design record albums, managed artists, and most other jobs in the business. He had a larger-than-life existence and captures it all in this readable and entertaining memoir that's a who's-who of music. - BH.
7 reviews1 follower
May 9, 2023
Easy read

A good history of meeting and helping music celebs. It becomes a bit samish from chapter to chapter. Not a bad read.

Profile Image for Tom.
474 reviews6 followers
June 6, 2023
A long and winding career, working with Kitty Lester, Cilla Black, The Beatles, Elton John, Lulu and The Rolling Stones amongst many others. Light, not very gossipy.
Profile Image for Tim.
502 reviews16 followers
August 11, 2024
Very moderately entertaining. The first bit about King's childhood is a bit interesting, but the music biz anecdotes are pretty dull unless you find anything that involves celebs inherently fascinating. The guy is not exactly a gifted yarn-spinner. Pleasant enough - well, not quite enough. I finished it, I guess, so it passes that minimal test, but on the other hand I was glad to be done with it.
702 reviews5 followers
June 24, 2025
An interesting and well written account of this man's career in music.
78 reviews
July 26, 2025
An enjoyable book about a talented lucky guy...
35 reviews
January 9, 2026
I dunno

Well worth a read some interesting insights , but lacking the excitment and sparkle I was expecting , but Tony has lived the life
Profile Image for Candice.
30 reviews6 followers
February 12, 2023
An insightful and touching look into the very interesting life of Tony King who has one of the most envy-inducing "address books" of all time. Holds some golden anecdotes and life lessons.
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