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Sheriff McCoy: Outlaw Legend of Hanoi Rocks
The decadent autobiography of HANOI ROCKS co-founder Andy McCoy, “Sheriff McCoy: Legend of Hanoi Rocks”, is now available in English for the first time in a deluxe hardcover edition through Bazillion Points Books.
Touted as “the last great rock ‘n’ roll memoir,” Andy McCoy’s autobiography covers the legendary guitarist’s life and exploits from childhood through the early 2000s rekindling of Hanoi Rocks. McCoy helped introduce punk to Finland with his teenaged band Briard before befriending glamorous Michael Monroe and forming Hanoi Rocks. Based for a time in a Stockholm subway station, the band embarked on wild life-changing and death-defying thrill ride around the world, touring Europe, London, and America, and also Israel, Brazil, Thailand, and Japan.
After Hanoi Rocks dissolved following the death of drummer Nicholas “Razzle” Dingley in Hollywood in December 1984, McCoy carried on with Suicide Twins, Cherry Bombz, a successful solo career, and a stint as a sideman to Iggy Pop. Meanwhile, Hanoi Rocks’ over-the-top image and streetwise bending of punk, glam, and rock ‘n’ roll inspired a generation of platinum-selling bands.
McCoy’s 204-page hilarious and harrowing autobiography includes dozens of rare candid photos, a deluxe embossed cover, a lengthy select discography spanning three decades of rarities, and a new 2009 preface written by McCoy after the final breakup of Hanoi Rocks. The book features guest appearances by Guns N’ Roses, Mötley Crue, the UK Subs, Ofra Haza, Kid Creole, Bob Marley, Lita Ford, David Coverdale of Whitesnake, Johnny Thunders of the New York Dolls, Stiv Bators, various Brazilian street urchins, the LAPD, British customs officials, and the Israeli Army Security Forces.
According to the author: “This book is entertainment for entertainment’s sake, for lovers of rock ‘n’ roll history and people who have a taste for the macabre.”
Touted as “the last great rock ‘n’ roll memoir,” Andy McCoy’s autobiography covers the legendary guitarist’s life and exploits from childhood through the early 2000s rekindling of Hanoi Rocks. McCoy helped introduce punk to Finland with his teenaged band Briard before befriending glamorous Michael Monroe and forming Hanoi Rocks. Based for a time in a Stockholm subway station, the band embarked on wild life-changing and death-defying thrill ride around the world, touring Europe, London, and America, and also Israel, Brazil, Thailand, and Japan.
After Hanoi Rocks dissolved following the death of drummer Nicholas “Razzle” Dingley in Hollywood in December 1984, McCoy carried on with Suicide Twins, Cherry Bombz, a successful solo career, and a stint as a sideman to Iggy Pop. Meanwhile, Hanoi Rocks’ over-the-top image and streetwise bending of punk, glam, and rock ‘n’ roll inspired a generation of platinum-selling bands.
McCoy’s 204-page hilarious and harrowing autobiography includes dozens of rare candid photos, a deluxe embossed cover, a lengthy select discography spanning three decades of rarities, and a new 2009 preface written by McCoy after the final breakup of Hanoi Rocks. The book features guest appearances by Guns N’ Roses, Mötley Crue, the UK Subs, Ofra Haza, Kid Creole, Bob Marley, Lita Ford, David Coverdale of Whitesnake, Johnny Thunders of the New York Dolls, Stiv Bators, various Brazilian street urchins, the LAPD, British customs officials, and the Israeli Army Security Forces.
According to the author: “This book is entertainment for entertainment’s sake, for lovers of rock ‘n’ roll history and people who have a taste for the macabre.”
- GenresMusicNonfictionBiography
204 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
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57 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 17, 2022
despite the fact andy’s ego is the size of a mansion, the chronology was all over the place & he openly admitted he stole my fave’s girlfriend, it was an enjoyable read for the parts about hanoi!!
January 28, 2024
ETA: upon further investigation andy is simply a pathological liar. nothing in this book comes from a credible source, because it comes from andy. for instance, razzle was a fan of whitesnake and accidentally caught his own hair on fire while trying to help him light a cigarette because he was bit starstruck. this story doesn’t come from andy and sounds much more likely and fits with razzle’s nature. this book is worse than fiction because it 1) makes no sense, 2) is presented as factual.
____
this book is all over the place. literally chronologically it’s very confusing. razzle’s dead then he’s there again then he dies again and i could hardly keep track of who was who and when was when. michael appears out of nowhere, no story about how they met. sure, andy’s a rockstar not a writer and this doesn’t have to be that well written but my god, i’ve never liked andy from the moment i laid eyes on him in my early teens and i had pretty keen intuition back then. turns out he is very arrogant in this book and self unaware while trying to appear self aware. he’s very condescending, cocky and contradictory. he has very concrete ideas, especially about karma, while trying to appear open minded at the same time. no one is safe, he even rags on michael while at the same time saying how close they are. he’ll say things that make it sound like he’s professing some great wisdom or compassion when really what he’s saying is “look at me because i’m so much better because i don’t think or behave like these other people” but he doesn’t put his money where his mouth is. he is no better.
he tells snippets of gossip but then stops short and says things like “i won’t say exactly what went down, that’s their private business.” why mention it at all then?
he says he’s mad at steven adler for (potentially, he reckons) raping erin everly while overdosed (who knows if this story is made up for sensationalism or not) then makes a joke that steven should be raped in jail. because apparently two wrongs make a right. i don’t know if andy knows, but in adler’s autobiography he talks about sexual abuse he suffered as a young teen, sometimes being taken advantage of after being drugged.
andy says he prays for anyone who has ever lost a child but rags on vince neil and says he “didn’t get enough punishment.” vince neil’s 4 year old daughter died in the early 90s. andy doesn’t comment on this, but if he knows, he probably thinks this is “karma.” that’s not how karma works and it’s a dangerous belief. i bought this book years ago and had to put it down mostly because of one thing that he said about karma: that razzle died because of it. apparently razzle accidentally hit and killed someone with his car when when he was younger and did time for it. andy says he truly believed it was razzle’s karma that he died the way he did. im not even particularly emotionally invested in hanoi rocks or razzle, or vince, but this made me so mad, that andy could truly believe this, about his own supposed friend, no less. he basically believes in an eye for an eye, while pretending not to because he’s “above” that.
he thinks he’s better than other junkies and looks down on them because he’s supposedly kicked the habit and has no compassion for people who’ve been through the same thing he went through. no self insight or awareness.
andy also gets minus points in my book for mentioning astrology a few times but evidently only knowing basic sun sign astrology which doesn’t work on its own and is the reason people think astrology is bullshit.
bonus points on the other hand for being a true libra sun and never being able to make up his mind about anything and always contradicting himself. you’re a true libra as you claim, andy.
all in all i would only rec this book if you’re a die hard hanoi fan and want any info on them you can get. though, fair warning: this book is basically a post-wank mess.
____
this book is all over the place. literally chronologically it’s very confusing. razzle’s dead then he’s there again then he dies again and i could hardly keep track of who was who and when was when. michael appears out of nowhere, no story about how they met. sure, andy’s a rockstar not a writer and this doesn’t have to be that well written but my god, i’ve never liked andy from the moment i laid eyes on him in my early teens and i had pretty keen intuition back then. turns out he is very arrogant in this book and self unaware while trying to appear self aware. he’s very condescending, cocky and contradictory. he has very concrete ideas, especially about karma, while trying to appear open minded at the same time. no one is safe, he even rags on michael while at the same time saying how close they are. he’ll say things that make it sound like he’s professing some great wisdom or compassion when really what he’s saying is “look at me because i’m so much better because i don’t think or behave like these other people” but he doesn’t put his money where his mouth is. he is no better.
he tells snippets of gossip but then stops short and says things like “i won’t say exactly what went down, that’s their private business.” why mention it at all then?
he says he’s mad at steven adler for (potentially, he reckons) raping erin everly while overdosed (who knows if this story is made up for sensationalism or not) then makes a joke that steven should be raped in jail. because apparently two wrongs make a right. i don’t know if andy knows, but in adler’s autobiography he talks about sexual abuse he suffered as a young teen, sometimes being taken advantage of after being drugged.
andy says he prays for anyone who has ever lost a child but rags on vince neil and says he “didn’t get enough punishment.” vince neil’s 4 year old daughter died in the early 90s. andy doesn’t comment on this, but if he knows, he probably thinks this is “karma.” that’s not how karma works and it’s a dangerous belief. i bought this book years ago and had to put it down mostly because of one thing that he said about karma: that razzle died because of it. apparently razzle accidentally hit and killed someone with his car when when he was younger and did time for it. andy says he truly believed it was razzle’s karma that he died the way he did. im not even particularly emotionally invested in hanoi rocks or razzle, or vince, but this made me so mad, that andy could truly believe this, about his own supposed friend, no less. he basically believes in an eye for an eye, while pretending not to because he’s “above” that.
he thinks he’s better than other junkies and looks down on them because he’s supposedly kicked the habit and has no compassion for people who’ve been through the same thing he went through. no self insight or awareness.
andy also gets minus points in my book for mentioning astrology a few times but evidently only knowing basic sun sign astrology which doesn’t work on its own and is the reason people think astrology is bullshit.
bonus points on the other hand for being a true libra sun and never being able to make up his mind about anything and always contradicting himself. you’re a true libra as you claim, andy.
all in all i would only rec this book if you’re a die hard hanoi fan and want any info on them you can get. though, fair warning: this book is basically a post-wank mess.
February 4, 2014
The three stars come solely for my deep and lasting love of Hanoi Rocks. Along with Cheap Trick, they have been my favorite band almost as long as I can remember.
I was so excited when I found out this book existed, because let's just call it as it is, not many people in the US even know who Hanoi Rocks are, let alone Any McCoy. I was only 11 when tragedy struck, so I never had a chance to see them live. In my younger days, I collected everything I could of theirs, including every bootleg I could dig up.
The book is a very quick read if not an easy one. To me, the book jumps all over the place, and frequent changes of names of the same person gets confusing (ie - Mike, Makke, Michael in the same paragraph.) There are also a few odd third person references to the author himself. A lot of name dropping, and the majority of the names mean nothing to me. Way too many drug stories for my taste. This is not to say it is all bad. Some of the pictures are fantastic and there are some great stories intertwined as well.
While I will only recommend it for die hard fans, I don't regret the purchase. I would love to read one by Mike though.
I was so excited when I found out this book existed, because let's just call it as it is, not many people in the US even know who Hanoi Rocks are, let alone Any McCoy. I was only 11 when tragedy struck, so I never had a chance to see them live. In my younger days, I collected everything I could of theirs, including every bootleg I could dig up.
The book is a very quick read if not an easy one. To me, the book jumps all over the place, and frequent changes of names of the same person gets confusing (ie - Mike, Makke, Michael in the same paragraph.) There are also a few odd third person references to the author himself. A lot of name dropping, and the majority of the names mean nothing to me. Way too many drug stories for my taste. This is not to say it is all bad. Some of the pictures are fantastic and there are some great stories intertwined as well.
While I will only recommend it for die hard fans, I don't regret the purchase. I would love to read one by Mike though.
July 10, 2021
well. i am a HUGE Hanoi rocks fan, but going into this I knew Andy was a known liar, conceited git, and disliked for more than one reason. but I try to be polite and never publicly bashed him, but this book made me go mad in the worst way possible.
like others have said, he had a “holier than thou” attitude whilst talking about all the bad shit he’s done, he was extremely conceited, and the way it was written was extremely disorganized and reminded me of a 15 year old boy. he gave small tidbits of gossip followed up by “oh but I can’t tell you that story”.
there were several parts of the book that made me cry, and only one in a “I’m truly sad” way. that was the part about Razzle’s funeral. Razzle is my hero, may he RIP. all the other parts made me cry out of anger. Andy basically called Sami Yaffa ugly (“if Anna would’ve had my baby instead he would’ve had better genes”). how immature can you get? also way to call sami ugly yet still print photos of him in the book.
Andy is usually complimentary of Mike monroe which I found odd considering Andy is definitely always jealous of Mike, and a lot of interviews make that very clear.
the part that really broke me, however, was 2 things about Razzle. first, Andy basically tells Razzle’s fiancé - who he refuses to mention by name but I thought everyone knew who she was - that “I hope she finds someone to take his place”. NO ONE could take Razzle’s place, and it’s blatantly rude and disrespectful to suggest that to her. of course, I wish her all the peace and happiness in the world, but Andy assumes Razzle is replaceable.
the worst part by far was when Andy tells the blatant lie about Razzle killing someone and says his death was karma. I have truly never been disgusted upon reading something EVER in my entire life. not only is it untrue, but Andy again puts HIMSELF above the idea of karma (Andy has more evil in his pinky than Razzle did in his entire body). there is a reason why Andy was not allowed to write in Razzle’s biography. because he lies, and spreads misinformation and udder rude shit about him. and Andy, I can’t wait for this so called karma to get YOU someday.
the rest of the book barely meant anything to me. I take everything he says with an absolute grain of salt, and I hope everyone who reads the book does the same thing. I would not recommend this book to ANYONE, even if you’re a die hard hanoi rocks fan such as myself. Whilst I enjoyed the small amount of info about them in it and the photos, Andy takes credit for everyone’s work and disrespects pretty much everyone else. I promise you this book is not worth it. I sobbed after reading the chapters about Hanoi rocks.
also, Andy takes credit for saving Erin everly’s life, and basically takes credit for every achievement known to man. the center of the universe, in his eyes, is clearly him, and clearly he’s never gonna change cause he’s old now.
seriously, don’t read this book. read passages from it if you want to be in emotional pain lmao, but the rest of the book is boring anyway. Andy is like an evil version of gilderoy Lockhart.
since he so believes in karma, like I said before, hopefully it reaches HIM soon.
RIP Razzle.
like others have said, he had a “holier than thou” attitude whilst talking about all the bad shit he’s done, he was extremely conceited, and the way it was written was extremely disorganized and reminded me of a 15 year old boy. he gave small tidbits of gossip followed up by “oh but I can’t tell you that story”.
there were several parts of the book that made me cry, and only one in a “I’m truly sad” way. that was the part about Razzle’s funeral. Razzle is my hero, may he RIP. all the other parts made me cry out of anger. Andy basically called Sami Yaffa ugly (“if Anna would’ve had my baby instead he would’ve had better genes”). how immature can you get? also way to call sami ugly yet still print photos of him in the book.
Andy is usually complimentary of Mike monroe which I found odd considering Andy is definitely always jealous of Mike, and a lot of interviews make that very clear.
the part that really broke me, however, was 2 things about Razzle. first, Andy basically tells Razzle’s fiancé - who he refuses to mention by name but I thought everyone knew who she was - that “I hope she finds someone to take his place”. NO ONE could take Razzle’s place, and it’s blatantly rude and disrespectful to suggest that to her. of course, I wish her all the peace and happiness in the world, but Andy assumes Razzle is replaceable.
the worst part by far was when Andy tells the blatant lie about Razzle killing someone and says his death was karma. I have truly never been disgusted upon reading something EVER in my entire life. not only is it untrue, but Andy again puts HIMSELF above the idea of karma (Andy has more evil in his pinky than Razzle did in his entire body). there is a reason why Andy was not allowed to write in Razzle’s biography. because he lies, and spreads misinformation and udder rude shit about him. and Andy, I can’t wait for this so called karma to get YOU someday.
the rest of the book barely meant anything to me. I take everything he says with an absolute grain of salt, and I hope everyone who reads the book does the same thing. I would not recommend this book to ANYONE, even if you’re a die hard hanoi rocks fan such as myself. Whilst I enjoyed the small amount of info about them in it and the photos, Andy takes credit for everyone’s work and disrespects pretty much everyone else. I promise you this book is not worth it. I sobbed after reading the chapters about Hanoi rocks.
also, Andy takes credit for saving Erin everly’s life, and basically takes credit for every achievement known to man. the center of the universe, in his eyes, is clearly him, and clearly he’s never gonna change cause he’s old now.
seriously, don’t read this book. read passages from it if you want to be in emotional pain lmao, but the rest of the book is boring anyway. Andy is like an evil version of gilderoy Lockhart.
since he so believes in karma, like I said before, hopefully it reaches HIM soon.
RIP Razzle.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 5, 2024
I don’t get the bad reviews for this book. It looks like a lot of them were maybe written by people Andy McCoy has personally wronged?
I dunno.
That said, I thought Sheriff McCoy: Outlaw Legend of Hanoi Rocks was not a lot worse than many other rock bios. There are complaints he was “all over the place” in his writing. My brothers and sisters, have you read David Lee Roth’s book? 😂
I did not find Sheriff McCoy hard to follow at all. There are times where he skips ahead, but catches himself and gets back to the main idea. He covers his childhood, his time in Hanoi Rocks, and his life since and for the most part goes in that order. I mean, what else is there really to say?
I can admit this book maybe could have benefited from a little tighter editing and direction, but I don’t know if that’s a fault of the editors or something maybe lost in translation.
There are also areas where I would have liked more detail but I realize this book was written 20-something years after the fact. Based on his own accounting, likely Andy doesn’t remember a lot of what happened.
The bottom line is I thought this book was fine. I’m not an Andy McCoy apologist - I don’t know him and I’ve never met him. If he’s making up details for the book, I don’t know. If he comes across as egotistical… again, have you read any other rock autobiographies? I think a big ego is a qualifying factor.
This book appears to not be everyone’s piece of cake. I wasn’t a rabid fan of Hanoi Rocks - in fact I had only found out about them just before Razzle’s death, about the time Two Steps from the Move was released. It was only later I went back to their older albums.
But even as only a slightly-more-than-casual fan I was able to enjoy reading Andy McCoy’s version of events. I think anyone with an interest in the band would enjoy it if they go into with an open mind and not harboring any beef with the author.
Three-and-a-half stars rounded up to four
I dunno.
That said, I thought Sheriff McCoy: Outlaw Legend of Hanoi Rocks was not a lot worse than many other rock bios. There are complaints he was “all over the place” in his writing. My brothers and sisters, have you read David Lee Roth’s book? 😂
I did not find Sheriff McCoy hard to follow at all. There are times where he skips ahead, but catches himself and gets back to the main idea. He covers his childhood, his time in Hanoi Rocks, and his life since and for the most part goes in that order. I mean, what else is there really to say?
I can admit this book maybe could have benefited from a little tighter editing and direction, but I don’t know if that’s a fault of the editors or something maybe lost in translation.
There are also areas where I would have liked more detail but I realize this book was written 20-something years after the fact. Based on his own accounting, likely Andy doesn’t remember a lot of what happened.
The bottom line is I thought this book was fine. I’m not an Andy McCoy apologist - I don’t know him and I’ve never met him. If he’s making up details for the book, I don’t know. If he comes across as egotistical… again, have you read any other rock autobiographies? I think a big ego is a qualifying factor.
This book appears to not be everyone’s piece of cake. I wasn’t a rabid fan of Hanoi Rocks - in fact I had only found out about them just before Razzle’s death, about the time Two Steps from the Move was released. It was only later I went back to their older albums.
But even as only a slightly-more-than-casual fan I was able to enjoy reading Andy McCoy’s version of events. I think anyone with an interest in the band would enjoy it if they go into with an open mind and not harboring any beef with the author.
Three-and-a-half stars rounded up to four
December 24, 2023
A book filled with stories that have never happened, terrible writing too
January 21, 2023
For the record I am A HUGE Hanoi Rocks fan (naturally, otherwise why else would I have picked this up) - but oh my. This book felt as if it was written in such a rush, then sent immediately to print.
Obviously reading this in 2023 a lot of things have changed and have happened since the release of this book. For example the Hanoi Rocks 2001-2009 years and not to mention the reunion show they did last year with the original line up. So a lot of the issues that Andy had written in this book probably have been resolved since then.
My main issues with this book were the order of the events, there's a lot of jumping back and forth or repetitiveness, and had it gotten a much closer and refined edit it would have been a much smoother read. I'm also aware that this was translated, and there were certain parts which just felt like poor translation work (I know translating is tricky). Lastly, I felt that Andy missed out on a lot of things, especially when he even admits that there are a lot of stories he wanted to tell but didn't. There's also an excerpt which he wrote in 2009 mentioning that had he written this book later the tone of it would have been very different to how it originally was.
Obviously reading this in 2023 a lot of things have changed and have happened since the release of this book. For example the Hanoi Rocks 2001-2009 years and not to mention the reunion show they did last year with the original line up. So a lot of the issues that Andy had written in this book probably have been resolved since then.
My main issues with this book were the order of the events, there's a lot of jumping back and forth or repetitiveness, and had it gotten a much closer and refined edit it would have been a much smoother read. I'm also aware that this was translated, and there were certain parts which just felt like poor translation work (I know translating is tricky). Lastly, I felt that Andy missed out on a lot of things, especially when he even admits that there are a lot of stories he wanted to tell but didn't. There's also an excerpt which he wrote in 2009 mentioning that had he written this book later the tone of it would have been very different to how it originally was.
August 10, 2016
Do not expect an autobiography or a band bio either. It's just McCoy randomly recalling episodes of his life and carreer. You could say it's a 'must have' for Hanoi Rocks fans because there's not a book about the band and this is at least an official release. They could've used some unseen color pics to make up for the lack of contents, but as it turns out there are just a few, mostly stamp-size b/w pics.
Disappointed.
Disappointed.
February 21, 2016
I'm giving this the benefit of the doubt that this book was just poorly translated into English. Also, just because the stories weren't written in chronological order, as stated in the intro, doesn't mean they had to be published that way. I never knew what point in time we were talking about.
January 30, 2024
Short review: this book isn't worth the effort.
Longer review: Andy McCoy was the lead guitarist for Finnish band Hanoi Rocks, a very influential band in the early 80s. Their music was a mixture of punk and old fashioned rock, but their look was very glam, and they influenced later bands like Guns N' Roses and Poison. Their story is great source material, with their rise from Finland to the cusp of stardom, which was derailed when their drummer Razzle was killed in a car crash with Vince Neil driving. This tragedy led to the demise of the band. Unfortunately, this books wastes such great potential.
The biggest issue is that the writing and editing is a mess. It is poorly written and all over the place chronologically, making it very hard to tell what is going on. It seems like it should have been the source material for a real book that needed a co-writer to fill in the details and make it coherent.
It has the potential to be a decent book, with a few engaging stories about Axl Rose's girlfriend Erin Everly OD'ing as Steven Adler's house, touring with Iggy Pop, and the death of Razzle and the immediate aftermath. But, that is lost in the disjointed writing and the pompousness and self-righteousness of the author. It barely mentions his relationship with singer Mike Monroe, when they were supposedly this very tight songwriting team and best friends.
The book itself is very nicely put together, with a quality cover, picture inside, and even a ribbon marker. Unfortunately that doesn't save the poor writing. It's amazing that this book was even published, but a shame it wasn't written well.
Longer review: Andy McCoy was the lead guitarist for Finnish band Hanoi Rocks, a very influential band in the early 80s. Their music was a mixture of punk and old fashioned rock, but their look was very glam, and they influenced later bands like Guns N' Roses and Poison. Their story is great source material, with their rise from Finland to the cusp of stardom, which was derailed when their drummer Razzle was killed in a car crash with Vince Neil driving. This tragedy led to the demise of the band. Unfortunately, this books wastes such great potential.
The biggest issue is that the writing and editing is a mess. It is poorly written and all over the place chronologically, making it very hard to tell what is going on. It seems like it should have been the source material for a real book that needed a co-writer to fill in the details and make it coherent.
It has the potential to be a decent book, with a few engaging stories about Axl Rose's girlfriend Erin Everly OD'ing as Steven Adler's house, touring with Iggy Pop, and the death of Razzle and the immediate aftermath. But, that is lost in the disjointed writing and the pompousness and self-righteousness of the author. It barely mentions his relationship with singer Mike Monroe, when they were supposedly this very tight songwriting team and best friends.
The book itself is very nicely put together, with a quality cover, picture inside, and even a ribbon marker. Unfortunately that doesn't save the poor writing. It's amazing that this book was even published, but a shame it wasn't written well.
February 4, 2025
I actually enjoyed this book.
I loved reading about Andy's early life and how he ended up meeting the guys to become Hanoi Rocks. Lots of great info and stories to read!!
It does seem all over the place but he says that in the beginning ..these are things he remembers as they pop into his head.
He does have a bit of an ego but I'm fine with that.
I was around them when Razzle was killed and it was a horrible time.
My friend and I cooked dinner for Mike and Andy and kept them company for a couple days. Andy was very distraught and there were things happening with the band internally as well. Drugs were such a downfall for him. All in all though, they were two of the sweetest guys I've ever met.
I just wish I would have kept in touch after they went back home.
I'm glad to see he's clean and happy now....hopefully still.
I loved reading about Andy's early life and how he ended up meeting the guys to become Hanoi Rocks. Lots of great info and stories to read!!
It does seem all over the place but he says that in the beginning ..these are things he remembers as they pop into his head.
He does have a bit of an ego but I'm fine with that.
I was around them when Razzle was killed and it was a horrible time.
My friend and I cooked dinner for Mike and Andy and kept them company for a couple days. Andy was very distraught and there were things happening with the band internally as well. Drugs were such a downfall for him. All in all though, they were two of the sweetest guys I've ever met.
I just wish I would have kept in touch after they went back home.
I'm glad to see he's clean and happy now....hopefully still.
August 5, 2021
When you learn that your favorite FInnish band, Hanoi Rocks', guitar player wrote a memoir several years ago, you buy that shit pronto. Glad I did because breezy read gave me some great 1st person accounts of Hanoi's history that I only knew from decade old memories and other people's recollection.
Andy has written a very frank telling of his long life in the music industry and how it was to have a band only exist for like 4 years but crank out several amazing albums that maybe sold 1M copies world wide but would influence a generation of bands from Guns n Roses to early Alice in Chains.
Extra points for McCoy trash talking some of the famous people he encoutered along the way
Andy has written a very frank telling of his long life in the music industry and how it was to have a band only exist for like 4 years but crank out several amazing albums that maybe sold 1M copies world wide but would influence a generation of bands from Guns n Roses to early Alice in Chains.
Extra points for McCoy trash talking some of the famous people he encoutered along the way
April 21, 2021
"The best revenge is to have a good life "
I agree. Andy McCoy wrote this book when he was in his 30s. Jaw dropping rock-'n'-roll stories mix with useful advice for aspiring musicians, spirituality and philosophy. Basically, don't become a musician for any other reason than the love of music.
It's not written in a chronological order, which sometimes makes it difficult to read. I had to work out what happened when by the songs recorded/albums released.
I agree. Andy McCoy wrote this book when he was in his 30s. Jaw dropping rock-'n'-roll stories mix with useful advice for aspiring musicians, spirituality and philosophy. Basically, don't become a musician for any other reason than the love of music.
It's not written in a chronological order, which sometimes makes it difficult to read. I had to work out what happened when by the songs recorded/albums released.
April 23, 2012
Sheriff McCoy by Andy McCoy
Subtitled Outlaw Legend Of Hanoi Rocks.
This is Andy McCoys telling of his own rock &
Roll Legend and is stuffed with great stories of
his sex and drugs and rock & roll life.
There is no shying away from the bad side of his
and Hanoi Rocks legendary intake of drugs and
there rapacious use of groupies.
Throughout all the sex and drugs Andy conveys
how much hard work he put into learning to play
his guitar and learning to speak several
languages, it is surprising to find out this
Finnish Legends first language was actually
Swedish followed by English then Finnish.
But when he dishes the dirt about Vince Neil and
his part in the death of Razzle, or about how
Steven Adler got thrown out of Guns & Roses
there is enough humility in the telling of these
tragic tales to make me sympathetic to most of
the people involved except messrs Neil and Adler
who really don't come out well.
It comes to something when even Axl rose comes
out of this tale pretty well. Andy does a fair
amount of drug rehab preaching but also tells
some very funny stories about being
mindblowingly stoned on tour in India and Japan
etc to make this book a must have read for
anyone who likes his music with Hanoi Rocks or
his other bands from Briard to Iggy Pop and
beyond.
Subtitled Outlaw Legend Of Hanoi Rocks.
This is Andy McCoys telling of his own rock &
Roll Legend and is stuffed with great stories of
his sex and drugs and rock & roll life.
There is no shying away from the bad side of his
and Hanoi Rocks legendary intake of drugs and
there rapacious use of groupies.
Throughout all the sex and drugs Andy conveys
how much hard work he put into learning to play
his guitar and learning to speak several
languages, it is surprising to find out this
Finnish Legends first language was actually
Swedish followed by English then Finnish.
But when he dishes the dirt about Vince Neil and
his part in the death of Razzle, or about how
Steven Adler got thrown out of Guns & Roses
there is enough humility in the telling of these
tragic tales to make me sympathetic to most of
the people involved except messrs Neil and Adler
who really don't come out well.
It comes to something when even Axl rose comes
out of this tale pretty well. Andy does a fair
amount of drug rehab preaching but also tells
some very funny stories about being
mindblowingly stoned on tour in India and Japan
etc to make this book a must have read for
anyone who likes his music with Hanoi Rocks or
his other bands from Briard to Iggy Pop and
beyond.
April 11, 2016
I'm big Hanoi rocks fan every book about them is Finnish so imagine my happiness when I found out this was translated in English. Funny book, interesting stories the thing that bugged me was first he's talking about his childhood than to his Hanoi years than jumped after Hanoi than back to Hanoi. It was a roller-coaster but I don't expect any less from Andy. It's to easy read, the pictures are great. I finished in 2 days highly recommended to any music fan.
Want to Read
August 25, 2010I have not read this nor own this book- I want to swap for it
June 20, 2012
great stories, but poorly written.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews