The One and Only: Peter Perrett, Homme Fatale

by Nina Antonia

“A drug counselor and the author of In Cold Blood (Johnny Thunders biography) Antonia is the ideal chronicler of Perrett ’s rise and fall. From his time as drug dealer, to the smack sojourn in British punk band The Only Ones, Perrett’s tale is one of self-abuse and staggering selfishness. Antonia’s interviews reveal an individual in a twilight of sex, drugs and narcissism.”— Select Magazine

Genres: Music, Biography

224 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1999

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glad this book was reissued. It’s a well told biography.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another Nina Antonia "puppy boy gone junkie" bio, this time about wimp-rocker Peter Perrett whose crash and burn band The Only Ones failed to capture record company or consumer interest. His band was so poorly managed that CBS Records used them as a textbook example on "how not to run a band" at board meetings.

All of this may seem sympathy-generating if not for the fact that Perrett was a detestable snob who got kicked off a Who tour (by Roger Daltrey, of all people) for refusing to speak to his headliners. Other highlights of this awful little man is his insistence on having his wife wash his hair, which she complied to like a mindless slave. I also liked the part where he made her deal drugs while she was pregnant. There has never been a loser as despicable as Peter Perrett. And not only that, but he's not even good-looking - he looks like Abraham Lincoln's horse.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

The life and times of Peter Perrett, front man of The Only Ones. This information cannot be found anywhere else and provides a real glimpse into the inner workings of The Only Ones during their lifespan.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

He loved drugs more than music.

[China · Rating 2 out of 5]

You know how there are famous creative geniuses who got where they are because there's a wife in the background who has managed their home, managed their family, managed their career, and has done it so quietly that you don't know the wife's name? If this bothers you, you will HATE this book. About eight years ago Peter Perrett put out a gorgeous song, presumably written for his wife Zena ("An Epic Story"), and he owes her so much more -- without her managing, her enabling, his life would've looked quite different. As they tell it, there's basically no Only Ones career without her, and he pretty much owes her his life. Granted, The One and Only was written thirty years ago, so circumstances have surely (hopefully?) changed since then, but my lord, Perrett sounds like he was a terrible husband who got by on vampire looks and huge coke sales.

It's not often I think of a juicy rock biography as a slog, but the writing here often tries to match Perrett's elegance, romantic quality, whatever you want to call it, and even when describing how he wrecked his life, flatters him with ridiculously flowery language. I went into this book as a fan and came out of it absolutely floored at what we let artists get away with.

[Andre' Delbos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readable and exciting, this updated version ends with the mere suggestion of Perrett's re-reemergence as a solo artist, ending just before the release 2017's How The West Was One.
History has yet to be completed on this enigmatic and supremely talented song writer, yet this book provides the preface.

[Jim Dunedin · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘The One & Only: Peter Perrett, Homme Fatale’, Nina Antonia. Many of us have been intrigued by the band that briefly flew high with ‘Another Girl Another Planet’ and fizzled out. Nina Antonia, has done the research, conducted the interviews and written up the account. Uncovered is Peter Perrett's’ perchance for drugs, both consuming and supplying that undermined the band, his health, and his art. Recently there has been redemption with new solo material and live shows with the backing of his sons’. From my Medium review at: https://medium.com/music-voices/the-r...

[Ranran · Rating 2 out of 5]

Worth it only to those who love the Only Ones; hard to get through even then.