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Johnny Thunders: In Cold Blood
Thirteen years after its initial publication, Johnny Thunder's authorized biography has been resurrected and revised. The cult bible of all things Thunders, it is the definitive portrait of the condemned man of rock 'n' roll, from the baptism of fire and tragedy that was the New York Dolls, through the junkie punk years of the Heartbreakers and beyond. It is an unflinching account of a unique guitarist whose drug problems often overshadowed his considerable style and talent, and whose influence on such bands as The Sex Pistols and Guns N' Roses is still resonant.
257 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2000
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December 20, 2015
March 2015.
In The Prettiest Star, the author felt like the [once-]wild big sister I needed and never had – a person who would get some things to an extent even my closest friends don’t. I had to read more by her, regardless of subject, because when you like someone this much, almost everything they like becomes interesting. Most of all I wanted to read her Peter Perrett book*, but last time I checked, that was only available second hand for about £40. Johnny Thunders and the Dolls had always been artists that people I liked, liked but which I’d never seriously looked into myself. Presumably odd tracks I’d heard hadn’t really grabbed me.
I discovered in the last couple of months with some old 33 1/3s that reading whole books about musicians whose work you don’t love can be a bit boring (the writing and/or story has to be amazing for it to be any other way). I was kind of bored here, but at the same time I could see how the level of detail was exactly what a serious fan would hunger for. Music aside, JT isn’t IMO good looking (with the exception of the beautiful Que Sera Sera sleeve), or possessed of much intelligence, wit, insight or taste. He doesn’t give good interview, and his life story – normal childhood, but still became a mess through drugs – lacks the poignancy of someone who struggled more earlier on, or who battled through later. He did at least manage to do more than enough to display talent and potential, so the world understands what was wasted. Though I do wonder if I'd been around at the time, if I'd have come to a similar conclusion as Sounds reviewer Jane Suck, who declared Thunders the most arrogant slob ever to stumble across a stage.
My age is undoubtedly a big factor here, and I decided to write this post before I listened to the Dolls / JT album or two I must have somewhere, but I think reading about an artist you don’t greatly care for having this sort of life makes one see the rock n roll myth sui generis as so much bullshit. Even if you still like it in the context of people you like. This guy didn’t start off needing the drugs because of emotional - or physical, not forgetting Kurt and Kavan - pain, but they destroyed him anyway; he had quite a lot of supporters - in the way that plenty don’t - so he never, in Smash Hits parlance, went down the dumper. I agree that the investigation into his death was ballsed-up. And I’m not wholly unsympathetic, I just don’t find him as romantic a figure as many do.
I’m slightly fascinated by Pete Doherty* although I find him physically unattractive and much of his solo work overrated – his awful parents and great taste in literature make him more interesting than JT – and I like to hear how he’s doing every now and again. Reading this book reminded me of the stories about him doing rehab in Nov, and I looked up a couple of recent articles - delighted to find he’s still clean and hope he keeps it up. I’ve met enough people in whom excess was the path to the palace of wisdom so, whilst I’m not against the debauchery in the first place, I think there comes a point when people who are as addicted as either of those two are just too sodding old for it, too much of a nuisance to others, too much of a waste of their own abilities, and they need to bloody well clean up so there’s a point to the experience. Hopefully becoming balanced and wise in the process, and not sanctimonious killjoys.
As far as I’m concerned, the real hero of this book is Christopher Giercke, a German film maker who decided to manage Thunders in the 80s, after getting to know him through a friend. He now lives in Mongolia – this is a guy who’s not afraid of a daunting experience, and who’s up to the challenge of one. Aside from some of Antonia’s gorgeous and unexpected metaphors (not as many here as in the later book) most of the bits of Johnny Thunders In Cold Blood I want to quote and remember are Giercke’s opinions. He’s one of those people who has the qualities of an outstanding therapist, but instead uses their abilities in the role of a friend - which also allows for helpful idiosyncracies that might not fit an increasingly-rule bound therapeutic system.
'You know', he begins, 'the great task is of any teacher is to eliminate himself from the situation. He must do it so he is always there from a spiritual point of view , in case he is needed, but something is lost if he is depended on too much.'
Do you think the danger exists that you may look at the situation too sympathetically?...
'I hope not. I don't think so. You see, over the past three or four years, my absences have been very deliberate. I want to build Johnny's self-confidence: make him realise he can take care of situations on his own without any help from me or anyone... Everything must be done in stages...
You cannot ignore Johnny's problems. Detoxification, or trying for it, has terrible emotional effects on him. It's time to stop. You cannot go on smashing all the windows, threatening to throw guitars through windows, getting beaten up by the police... Everyone who uses these kind of drugs reacts to criticism in different ways...
To deliver what is expected is not enough. Johnny has the responsibility not to present a fucked-up image to the world, it is very selfish. There is a difference between heroin addiction and having a good time. In fact they have nothing in common at all...
You know, it's not really management's task at all, it's a friend's task to develop his responsibilities to those around him.'
However wise one is, sometimes it goes wrong:
[a few pages later]
Gierke ... was well informed of the guitarist's movements but decided to stay in the shadows to see if Thunders could manage to... fall on his own two feet...
Confused and in a bad state of chemical depression, Thunders didn't take the time to analyse Christopher's actions, which he regarded as a form of betrayal.
The writing, whilst sharper than the average rock bio, isn't as great as in The Prettiest Star (which was, in fairness, written almost 20 years later). For all that a dark and destructive romanticism embues this story, sometimes the humour can be marvellously dry: Goaded by Grundy, Johnny Rotten and the boys got into a little minor league swearing, the kind of surly comments that can be heard in any pub in England when last orders are called.
It's a good book, but not one to convert me to Thunders / Dolls fandom.
*After writing this post, I read that the Perrett book is to be reissued next month, and that Antonia edited a book of Doherty's writings which was published last year.
In The Prettiest Star, the author felt like the [once-]wild big sister I needed and never had – a person who would get some things to an extent even my closest friends don’t. I had to read more by her, regardless of subject, because when you like someone this much, almost everything they like becomes interesting. Most of all I wanted to read her Peter Perrett book*, but last time I checked, that was only available second hand for about £40. Johnny Thunders and the Dolls had always been artists that people I liked, liked but which I’d never seriously looked into myself. Presumably odd tracks I’d heard hadn’t really grabbed me.
I discovered in the last couple of months with some old 33 1/3s that reading whole books about musicians whose work you don’t love can be a bit boring (the writing and/or story has to be amazing for it to be any other way). I was kind of bored here, but at the same time I could see how the level of detail was exactly what a serious fan would hunger for. Music aside, JT isn’t IMO good looking (with the exception of the beautiful Que Sera Sera sleeve), or possessed of much intelligence, wit, insight or taste. He doesn’t give good interview, and his life story – normal childhood, but still became a mess through drugs – lacks the poignancy of someone who struggled more earlier on, or who battled through later. He did at least manage to do more than enough to display talent and potential, so the world understands what was wasted. Though I do wonder if I'd been around at the time, if I'd have come to a similar conclusion as Sounds reviewer Jane Suck, who declared Thunders the most arrogant slob ever to stumble across a stage.
My age is undoubtedly a big factor here, and I decided to write this post before I listened to the Dolls / JT album or two I must have somewhere, but I think reading about an artist you don’t greatly care for having this sort of life makes one see the rock n roll myth sui generis as so much bullshit. Even if you still like it in the context of people you like. This guy didn’t start off needing the drugs because of emotional - or physical, not forgetting Kurt and Kavan - pain, but they destroyed him anyway; he had quite a lot of supporters - in the way that plenty don’t - so he never, in Smash Hits parlance, went down the dumper. I agree that the investigation into his death was ballsed-up. And I’m not wholly unsympathetic, I just don’t find him as romantic a figure as many do.
I’m slightly fascinated by Pete Doherty* although I find him physically unattractive and much of his solo work overrated – his awful parents and great taste in literature make him more interesting than JT – and I like to hear how he’s doing every now and again. Reading this book reminded me of the stories about him doing rehab in Nov, and I looked up a couple of recent articles - delighted to find he’s still clean and hope he keeps it up. I’ve met enough people in whom excess was the path to the palace of wisdom so, whilst I’m not against the debauchery in the first place, I think there comes a point when people who are as addicted as either of those two are just too sodding old for it, too much of a nuisance to others, too much of a waste of their own abilities, and they need to bloody well clean up so there’s a point to the experience. Hopefully becoming balanced and wise in the process, and not sanctimonious killjoys.
As far as I’m concerned, the real hero of this book is Christopher Giercke, a German film maker who decided to manage Thunders in the 80s, after getting to know him through a friend. He now lives in Mongolia – this is a guy who’s not afraid of a daunting experience, and who’s up to the challenge of one. Aside from some of Antonia’s gorgeous and unexpected metaphors (not as many here as in the later book) most of the bits of Johnny Thunders In Cold Blood I want to quote and remember are Giercke’s opinions. He’s one of those people who has the qualities of an outstanding therapist, but instead uses their abilities in the role of a friend - which also allows for helpful idiosyncracies that might not fit an increasingly-rule bound therapeutic system.
'You know', he begins, 'the great task is of any teacher is to eliminate himself from the situation. He must do it so he is always there from a spiritual point of view , in case he is needed, but something is lost if he is depended on too much.'
Do you think the danger exists that you may look at the situation too sympathetically?...
'I hope not. I don't think so. You see, over the past three or four years, my absences have been very deliberate. I want to build Johnny's self-confidence: make him realise he can take care of situations on his own without any help from me or anyone... Everything must be done in stages...
You cannot ignore Johnny's problems. Detoxification, or trying for it, has terrible emotional effects on him. It's time to stop. You cannot go on smashing all the windows, threatening to throw guitars through windows, getting beaten up by the police... Everyone who uses these kind of drugs reacts to criticism in different ways...
To deliver what is expected is not enough. Johnny has the responsibility not to present a fucked-up image to the world, it is very selfish. There is a difference between heroin addiction and having a good time. In fact they have nothing in common at all...
You know, it's not really management's task at all, it's a friend's task to develop his responsibilities to those around him.'
However wise one is, sometimes it goes wrong:
[a few pages later]
Gierke ... was well informed of the guitarist's movements but decided to stay in the shadows to see if Thunders could manage to... fall on his own two feet...
Confused and in a bad state of chemical depression, Thunders didn't take the time to analyse Christopher's actions, which he regarded as a form of betrayal.
The writing, whilst sharper than the average rock bio, isn't as great as in The Prettiest Star (which was, in fairness, written almost 20 years later). For all that a dark and destructive romanticism embues this story, sometimes the humour can be marvellously dry: Goaded by Grundy, Johnny Rotten and the boys got into a little minor league swearing, the kind of surly comments that can be heard in any pub in England when last orders are called.
It's a good book, but not one to convert me to Thunders / Dolls fandom.
*After writing this post, I read that the Perrett book is to be reissued next month, and that Antonia edited a book of Doherty's writings which was published last year.
March 19, 2012
Johnny Thunders...In Cold Blood By Nina Antonia
This is the updated re-issue of Nina's classic
authorised Biography of Johnny Thunders life and
death and comes complete with a cd of rarities
and outtakes and an inteview with Johnny for good
measure, as an enticement to everyone who bought
the first edition.
Anyway this is a no holds barred look at Johnny's
rise and inevitable fall into drugs drugs and
more drugs. The heroin and how much it cost him,
how every chance he ever had at true success he
always found a way to screw it up,normally with
the help of King Heroin and his good buddy
Methadone and a whole lot of Pot besides.
Nina makes this into a good look at exactly who
he worked with and how the relationships worked
and how Johnny's relationship with his absent
father tore away at him throughout his life, and
his never being able to forgive himself for being
similarly absent from his own childrens lives.
A great read and some great stories told.
It has the inevitable sad ending when he was
murdered or not murdered depending on who you
believe for his Methadone script and some silk
suits in New Orleans whilst already terminally
ill with Leukemia at the age of 38.
In Johnny's own words You Can't Put Your Arms
Around a Memory, indeed you can't but you will
laugh like Johnny did when Walter Lure went off
and became a Commodity Broker on Wall Street when
he wasn't playing with Johnny or taking Heroin,
proving Smackheads can earn Millions on Wall
Street too!!
Something Johnny never managed ending up with
just the two suitcases of clothes and a couple of
Guitars to his name, oh and a catalogue of great
and not so great recordings.
This is the updated re-issue of Nina's classic
authorised Biography of Johnny Thunders life and
death and comes complete with a cd of rarities
and outtakes and an inteview with Johnny for good
measure, as an enticement to everyone who bought
the first edition.
Anyway this is a no holds barred look at Johnny's
rise and inevitable fall into drugs drugs and
more drugs. The heroin and how much it cost him,
how every chance he ever had at true success he
always found a way to screw it up,normally with
the help of King Heroin and his good buddy
Methadone and a whole lot of Pot besides.
Nina makes this into a good look at exactly who
he worked with and how the relationships worked
and how Johnny's relationship with his absent
father tore away at him throughout his life, and
his never being able to forgive himself for being
similarly absent from his own childrens lives.
A great read and some great stories told.
It has the inevitable sad ending when he was
murdered or not murdered depending on who you
believe for his Methadone script and some silk
suits in New Orleans whilst already terminally
ill with Leukemia at the age of 38.
In Johnny's own words You Can't Put Your Arms
Around a Memory, indeed you can't but you will
laugh like Johnny did when Walter Lure went off
and became a Commodity Broker on Wall Street when
he wasn't playing with Johnny or taking Heroin,
proving Smackheads can earn Millions on Wall
Street too!!
Something Johnny never managed ending up with
just the two suitcases of clothes and a couple of
Guitars to his name, oh and a catalogue of great
and not so great recordings.
June 30, 2009
First off, the photos of Johnny with his kids were the best. Nina Antonia is a superb story teller. I especially like the first couple of pages as she gives us a glimpse into Johnny's adolescence establishing the tone and setting of his background. Like many others, I only wish it would have been longer. But if it were I'm sure Johnny would have thought that would have been boring! There is so much more I wanted to know about Johnny. For instance: How did John and Julie (first wife) meet? I also would have liked to see more input from his sister, mom, and maybe Susanne. However, losing a brother myself, I know it is probably still hard for his family to talk about him. Also, maybe Nina didn't want to reveal anything very personal at the family's request and out of the respect and privacy for Johnny's kids. I especially love the photos where Johnny is smiling. The one where he is with Susanne and daughter Jaime he looks so happy! Johnny has been labeled everything in the book, from scumrocker junkie to a guitar genius by the press ignoring the man behind it all. This book portrays Johnny as he was, a human being with a lot of heart. He was good-bad he wasn't evil. =)
August 30, 2009
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-83...
The New York Dolls were a pioneering weirdness band in the days before US punk: all-male, they wore drag onstage, inspiring the "lame cowboy band" they shared rehearsal space with to form KISS ha ha but that's a whole other story. Johnny Thunders was the Dolls' lead guitarist, led a band called the Heartbreakers after the Dolls broke up and hung around with the early UK punk rock types when they came to New York to pay homage and probably introduced Sid Vicious to heroin ooops. The Sex Pistols have a snarky song called "New York" making fun of their forebears like, and Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers wrote a snarky one back called "Little London Boys."
The New York Dolls were a pioneering weirdness band in the days before US punk: all-male, they wore drag onstage, inspiring the "lame cowboy band" they shared rehearsal space with to form KISS ha ha but that's a whole other story. Johnny Thunders was the Dolls' lead guitarist, led a band called the Heartbreakers after the Dolls broke up and hung around with the early UK punk rock types when they came to New York to pay homage and probably introduced Sid Vicious to heroin ooops. The Sex Pistols have a snarky song called "New York" making fun of their forebears like, and Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers wrote a snarky one back called "Little London Boys."
April 19, 2021
D.T.K. L.A.M.F.
July 18, 2025
Quando estive nos EUA em novembro do ano passado e encontrei esta preciosidade aqui para vender, comprei sem pensar duas vezes – afinal, trata-se da biografia oficial de um dos meus grandes heróis musicais, o inigualável Johnny Thunders.
Lançado originalmente em 1988 – antes mesmo da até hoje inexplicada morte do músico, ocorrida 3 anos depois – “In Cold Blood” foi tendo, com o passar dos anos, novas edições, revistas, atualizadas e ampliadas e esta versão aqui é, nas palavras da própria autora, a definitiva.
Se a parte do livro que aborda a trajetória dos New York Dolls parece estranhamente “protocolar” – vale lembrar que Nina Antonia também escreveu uma biografia dos Dolls, a ótima “Too Much Too Soon” -, a obra começa a brilhar mesmo justamente quando Thunders começa a trilhar seu próprio caminho, primeiro com os lendários Heartbreakers e, posteriormente, em carreira solo.
Somos introduzidos a todo o caos que envolvia Johnny Thunders, mergulhando na atmosfera sempre imprevisível de seus shows – sempre inesquecíveis, seja pelas razões certas (rock ‘n’ roll em estado puro), seja pelas erradas (as conhecidas palhaçadas de junkie de Thunders). Um dos últimos autênticos bad boys do rock, que nunca conseguiu ser “enquadrado” pelo sistema da indústria da música, e nunca tentou mudar seu estilo para se adaptar às modas do momento. Um músico genial, mas com um senso autodestrutivo que sempre o levou a ferrar com tudo nas horas decisivas. Um cara que viu diversos outros artistas e bandas copiarem seu estilo, sua música, sua atitude, seu figurino, e ficarem milionários com isso, enquanto ele mesmo, Johnny, passou a vida inteira sendo rejeitado por gravadoras que tinham medo dele e tocando em intermináveis turnês por pequenos clubes em troca de um punhado de dólares, muitas vezes apenas o suficiente para conseguir comprar sua próxima dose de heroína.
Em diversas entrevistas ao longo da carreira (o livro mostra isso), Johnny sempre dizia que seu sonho era ir para New Orleans e montar uma banda com músicos locais. Ironicamente, quis o destino que ele partisse desta para uma melhor justamente naquela cidade, praticamente 24h depois de ter chegado e se hospedado no hoje lendário quarto 37 da St. Peter’s Guest House. O capítulo final do livro, que discorre sobre o imenso legado de Thunders, é de deixar o leitor com os olhos marejados.
Lançado originalmente em 1988 – antes mesmo da até hoje inexplicada morte do músico, ocorrida 3 anos depois – “In Cold Blood” foi tendo, com o passar dos anos, novas edições, revistas, atualizadas e ampliadas e esta versão aqui é, nas palavras da própria autora, a definitiva.
Se a parte do livro que aborda a trajetória dos New York Dolls parece estranhamente “protocolar” – vale lembrar que Nina Antonia também escreveu uma biografia dos Dolls, a ótima “Too Much Too Soon” -, a obra começa a brilhar mesmo justamente quando Thunders começa a trilhar seu próprio caminho, primeiro com os lendários Heartbreakers e, posteriormente, em carreira solo.
Somos introduzidos a todo o caos que envolvia Johnny Thunders, mergulhando na atmosfera sempre imprevisível de seus shows – sempre inesquecíveis, seja pelas razões certas (rock ‘n’ roll em estado puro), seja pelas erradas (as conhecidas palhaçadas de junkie de Thunders). Um dos últimos autênticos bad boys do rock, que nunca conseguiu ser “enquadrado” pelo sistema da indústria da música, e nunca tentou mudar seu estilo para se adaptar às modas do momento. Um músico genial, mas com um senso autodestrutivo que sempre o levou a ferrar com tudo nas horas decisivas. Um cara que viu diversos outros artistas e bandas copiarem seu estilo, sua música, sua atitude, seu figurino, e ficarem milionários com isso, enquanto ele mesmo, Johnny, passou a vida inteira sendo rejeitado por gravadoras que tinham medo dele e tocando em intermináveis turnês por pequenos clubes em troca de um punhado de dólares, muitas vezes apenas o suficiente para conseguir comprar sua próxima dose de heroína.
Em diversas entrevistas ao longo da carreira (o livro mostra isso), Johnny sempre dizia que seu sonho era ir para New Orleans e montar uma banda com músicos locais. Ironicamente, quis o destino que ele partisse desta para uma melhor justamente naquela cidade, praticamente 24h depois de ter chegado e se hospedado no hoje lendário quarto 37 da St. Peter’s Guest House. O capítulo final do livro, que discorre sobre o imenso legado de Thunders, é de deixar o leitor com os olhos marejados.
December 12, 2023
i loved everything about this book! like everyone that is a music fan, i had a bit of a fascination with thunders, and this book, even though the first edition ends in 1987, has it all. the author had the access that not many people had, and just to keep the track of all the musicians that were at some point a part of jt's band, seems like an impossible task.
it is a compelling read, i seriously couldn't stop reading and run late a couple of times because i just had to go for another page or two.
it is a compelling read, i seriously couldn't stop reading and run late a couple of times because i just had to go for another page or two.
January 3, 2026
The author made it quite clear she disliked JT so why would she write a book about him? Possibly because when the were holed up in the hotel she was constantly talking to Jerry Nolan. A losing endeavor; what on earth was she thinking?
April 1, 2008
Awesome rock'n'roll destruction book.
January 11, 2013
Love johnny Thunders, this book was very interesting, informative and well written, yet, i was bored at times.....good way to pass a sunday afternoon tho
April 26, 2013
Kinda similar to too much too soon but good as I must say I am a big fan of JT <3 Thank you Nina Antonia
September 1, 2025
upgrading rating on reread
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews