Unzipped

by Suzi Quatro

You've seen Suzi Q , the feature documentary about legendary 70s rocker Suzi now read Unzipped , the story of how Little Susie from Detroit grew up to become an international superstar musician - as told by the glam rock sensation herself.

The glam rock icon behind such hits as 'Can the Can', 'Devil Gate Drive' and 'Your Mamma Won't Like Me' has sold over 50 million records worldwide and has worked, partied and rocked out with legendary figures such as Noddy Holder, Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop. Suzi Quatro's transformation from girl to glam rocker was fuelled by huge talent, determination, hard work and a fabulous sense of humour, but it wasn't easy.

In Unzipped , Quatro tells her story of life behind the scenes and in the thick of it as one of the first major break-out female rock bassists. Later, she went on to Hollywood to join the cast of Happy Days , juggling her acting and music career with a turbulent personal life and constant touring around the world. Through it all, she never lost her passion to perform or her sense of adventure.

Suzi Quatro remembers it all in this brilliantly personal and funny book, a thrilling account of a life lived going hell for leather.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, Autobiography

384 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2007

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

this autobiography by suzi quatro is very interesting and entertaining in content.unfortunately however, i would say that unlike most celebrity biographies, it was probably in fact written by suzi herself with no help from a professional writer, and it shows, as the book really isn't very well written at all.it could have done with some good editing as well.i will say one thing for her though, she doesn't pull any punches, and tells the good with the bad, so i think it's a very honest and candid book.

having said that, she has led a fascinating life.probably the first female real rock 'n' roller, she never really made it big in her native america, but was a huge success in other parts of the world. for example, she has sold more records in australia than the beatles. i'll repeat that...more records sold than the beatles...can you believe that!!she is also very big in europe and japan and all together has sold over 50 million records...that's a lot of records! i wish i had had a chance to see her live as apparently her concerts were quite something.wearing her trademark leather jumpsuit with a zipper down the front (hence the book's title), wailing away on her bass guitar and belting out the lyrics, she was quite the sight to see.and even though she's 60 now, she's got a new rock album coming out in 2011 and still does around 60 concerts a year. way to go, girl!

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the greatest book in the history of the written word. I kept saying that--aloud sometimes!--as I read it, cuz this book, as flawed as it is, just made me so happy.

Suzi Quatro's story is the Zelig-esque history of pop music in America. She is a scrappy, old-fashioned, hard-working, cornball style pop star, for better and for worse, and this book is so unselfconscious and sweet. She even includes her terrible poetry and little shout-outs to friends. "Hey Tom Petty, you were awesome when I saw you play at the Troubador in 1979." "Alice Cooper, we were such good buds!" Etc. (I'm paraphrasing). Anyway, this is a text book about how to be a rock star and not be a jerk. I'm not done writing about this, but I don't want this review to get unwieldy.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another decent autobiography in honesty although I've enjoyed all things Glam for a while I only properly went delving into that era of stuff a few years back and the Chinn/Chapman links with bands like the Sweet bought my to Suzi ..whom I remembered more for being on Kids T.V. As a interviewee with her child some time back.
I was aware of the big hits and came across the lesser known in the UK 'stumblin' in' whilst checking the back catalogue which remains a favourite..anyhow this book filled in the gaps was always under we and have further substance to a couple of compilations I have.
The down side?...not the fault of the book but studio album wise I have the last three works by Suzi(at the time of writing)..the formidable QSP CDs and beyond which show if anything how much songwriting wise she has grown and as this book just takes us to 2008 there's a whole section of her life that I think would make a great additional book though arguably less of interest maybe to those who didn't stick around beyond the seventies.
Anyhow fine book ..worth delving into.

[Alec Downie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only taken me 17 years to finally pick up a copy of Unzipped by Suzi Quatro.

If I ever meet Suzi Quatro I want to give her a massive hug for the music, what she did for women in rock n roll and because of how much she sacrificed to make our teen dreams.

The book is candid, not salacious and an easy fun read.

Along with Patti and Debbie she forms the Holy Trinity of women that kicked down the doors for every girl that followed.

Amazing lady!

[Richard Haynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not only can this lady Rock 'N' Roll but she can write also.

[Staci Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

real and uncensored

ok, there is one censored part involving a “mr. x” celebrity buy everything else is open and honest and it doesn’t feel “ghostwritten.” loved it!

[Tom Schulte · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember Suzi as Leather Tuscadero and, for some reason, never got into her music, even though I am an avid music fan. Well, at least I thought I hadn't I alwasy loved the Pleasure Seekers stuff, but part of my thought Suzi was too young for that, and that was her older sisters. This autobiogaphy permanently disabused me of that notion and contains the entire Pleasure Seekers story, which is a plus. On the minus side, there is a cutesy style of "Little Susie from Detroit" interjecting herself through italics into the story "Suzi" tells. This goes along with a girlis, new age, spiritual side she reveals. Who knew in those skin-tight leather jump suits was the spirit-sensing Doris Day of rock-n-roll? Well, so there isn't much of the sex and drugs part of rock-b-roll here, but this does help me see the place Quatro has in rock history - by taking the leather apparel from Elvis' '68 Comeback and touring the world becoming an acknowledged role model for Joan Jett she linked 50's rock with 60's-70's rock as a template for a bold woman that rocks hard. On the personal side, she goes into great detail on being a mother on the road, the collapse of her marraige to Len, and the death of her mother as well as family squabbles. I wasn't aware of her stage carreer ('Annie Get Your Gun', 'Tallulah Who') and that is here as well has her cameo entry into the world of "sound healing" (I told you, new age-y).

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few weeks before I read Kathy Valentine's memoir earlier this summer, I started seeing trailers for a new documentary called "Suzi Q" -- about 1970s rock star Suzi Quatro -- in my Instagram feed, with her 1973 anthem "Can the Can" blaring in the background.

I hadn't heard the name Suzi Quatro in YEARS, so this was an unexpected blast from the past. I Googled her and saw that she had written a memoir a few years ago (published in 2007), called "Unzipped." And then, when I read about her influence on Kathy Valentine & Joan Jett (among others), I decided her book would be my next read. :)

I remember Suzi Quatro from the '70s, dimly. She's one of those musicians that I knew OF, more than I actually knew their music. I knew she was huge in Britain (much more so than she was in North America), and assumed she must be British. (She's not -- she was born and raised in Detroit.) I mostly remember her as Leather Tuscadero on the TV show "Happy Days" -- the younger sister of Fonzie's great love, Pinky Tuscadero -- which is how most of my peers (the North American ones, anyway) seem to remember her too, if they remember her at all. (I Googled, and she appeared in 7 episodes in season 5 & 6, fall 1977 through spring 1979, when I was graduating from high school.) Clad in leather, aggressively slinging a (bass) guitar, singing in a raspy voice, hair cut in a '70s shag, she was kind of (totally?) out of place in late 1950s/early 1960s Milwaukee with Richie Cunningham, Potsie Webber & Ralph Malph. Which didn't mean she wasn't worth watching...!

Susan Kay Quatro was born in 1950 to a Hungarian mother & Italian father, the second-youngest of five children. Like many kids of the 1950s, she was mesmerized seeing Elvis on TV, and after seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964, she and her sister Patti formed an all-girl group with a couple of neighbouring sisters, called The Pleasure Seekers. They graduated from local clubs and high school dances to touring around the country and into Canada, and even went to Vietnam to entertain the troops. In 1971, she was "discovered" by British producer Mickie Most, and headed to London in search of fame, fortune and a band to back her up. Not only did she find a band, she married one of her guitarists, Len Tuckey, in 1976. They had a son & daughter before they divorced in 1992. She's been married to Rainer Haas, a German promoter, since 1993.

After "Happy Days," Suzi appeared in other roles on television in Britain, including hosting a talk show for a while. She's also hosted a long-running radio show. She starred in a West End production of "Annie Get Your Gun," and wrote & starred in a musical about the actress Tallulah Bankhead. She considers herself more of an entertainer than a rock star. Now 70 and a grandmother, she's still rocking (albeit waiting out COVID along with the rest of us). She has been quoted as saying, "I WILL RETIRE WHEN I GO ONSTAGE , SHAKE MY ASS, AND THERE IS SILENCE." :)

This was probably far more than I ever needed to know about Suzi Quatro (lol), but it was a fun, non-taxing read & a blast from the past (I listened to and was reminded of some great '70s music, by Suzi and other glam-rock bands of the era, as I read). It's written in a distinctive voice, in a breezy, conversational style (sometimes almost as a stream of consciousness -- with asides in which "little Susie from Detroit" trades comments & observations with older "Suzi Q"). Lots of famous names get dropped :) (and, unfortunately, misspelled -- like many other musical memoirs I've read, this one could have used a good editor/proofreader). There are even some creepy ghost stories.

If you're a fan, obviously, it's a must-read.

3 stars, rounded up to 3.5.

(I still hope to see the documentary someday!)

[James Tidd · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Unzipped, Suzi Quatro tells her life story, from Little Susie from Detroit to an icon of the 70s Glam Rock era.

Born Susan Kay Quatro, her paternal grandfather was an Italian immigrant, whose surname was Quattrocchi, and because no one could pronounce the surname, it was shortened to Quatro. Her father was Art Quatro, her mother, Helen was Hungarian, meaning Suzi is half Italian half Hungarian. Her earliest influence was watching Elvis Presley when she was six. She has admitted that she had no direct role models in music, though she liked Billie Holiday and liked the dress sense of Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las. Formally trained in playing classical piano and percussion, she was asked to play bass guitar for the band, the Pleasure Seekers.

Suzi moved to England in 1971, where she has resided ever since. With Mickie Most, hits such as Can the Can and Devil Gate Drive were released in 1973, both selling over a million copies. These were followed in 1978 by If you can't give me love.

Suzi has had several acting roles. She played Leather Tuscadero in the popular TV show Happy Days. In Minder, she played Nancy, the singer girlfriend of Terry, and three years later, she appeared as a mentally disturbed ex-MI5 agent in Dempsey and Makepeace. She also played Mimi Clifton in an episode of Midsomer Murders. In 1986 she played Annie Oakley in a London production of Annie get your gun, following in the footsteps of the legendary Ethel Merman. She married Len Tuckey, her long-time guitarist in 1976. They had Laura and Richard and were divorced in 1992. She married Rainer Haas in 1993.

I have often thought throughout reading the book that Suzi could form an all-female band. Suzi would naturally be the bass player, the lead guitarist could be Joan Jett or Susanna Hoffs from the Bangles, the lead singer could be Debbie Harry, although all could play their part vocally, and finally, the drummer could be Karen Carpenter or the one from the Pleasure Seekers. That would certainly have turned heads, had Karen lived, and the group was formed.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the ages of 10 to 14 I was obsessed with Suzi Quatro, I bought her early LPs and even skipped church once so I could watch her as Leather Tuscadero on Happy Days. This was a phase I grew out of and I have hardly listened to Suzi Quatro's music since the early eighties. Reading the autobiography was tinged with nostalgia, I remember the words for the early hits like Can the Can and 48 Crash but had no idea what they were about. Suzi Q has had an interesting life, she started touring America with an all girl band, the Pleasure Seekers and then Cradle before being discovered by Mickie Most and brought to England. After a few lonely months, she hit the music world, when her debut hit single Can the Can reached no.1 in the UK charts. The memoir is strange in that it has little Susie Q interrupting the mature Suzi Q writing the autobiography, maybe this is because she is a Gemini, she is really into astrology and believes in ghosts. Her career continues to this day, though she no longer has the hit singles, she still regularly tours and managed to sell more records in Australia than the Beatles! Near the beginning of the book she mentions her Napoleon complex, she may stand at a mere 5 foot 2 but she is domineering and may see her impact on the rock world as being bigger than it was. She was a trailblazer for women in rock and directly influenced Joan Jett and Chrissie Hynde but the burgeoning punk movement of the late seventies also allowed many women singers to flourish in what had been such a male dominated industry.

[John A. Sillasen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Unabridged First Person Look into Who and How Little Susie Quatro from Detroit became Suzi Q!

A Very Good Introspective, yet Light Hearted Look at the Life of One Leather Wearing, Bass Playing Lady From Detroit. I particularly enjoyed the interplay, the author took dropping back and forth between Susan Kay Quatro, 2nd youngest of Four and the hard hitting, first person storytelling by the bassist, lead singer and leader of the Suzi Quatro Band. The story is written of her whole life to date in 2007 or 8 even before she started playing Bass in the Pleasure Seekers, all girl rock band. We learn the story of her musical family too. Before reading this, I was a huge fan of her keyboard playing brother, Michael; always referred to as Mickie. He was a huge talent. Got to see him perform with dynamic guitarist, Ted Nugent. A show I never forgot to this day. So to say I was motivated to read this story just as the Movie documentary, Suzi was released is no joke. She was always more of a pop star to me. To know differently now is relevant. Now I am interested in renting the documentary movie.

[annina · Rating 5 out of 5]

She's very cool. Ah, it was great to dive into the 60s, 70s and 80s; sooo many famous bands and people. Suzi has got an interesting story to tell.
It really feels like she wrote this book by herself, it seems very honest. At first, I was a bit confused by the story telling of little Susie from Detroit and Suzi Quatro . But then I became used to it and actually liked the comparison of her "two selves". I guess she's a very funny person and I personally found her writing style hilarious, I had to laugh lots while reading.
I'd love to go to a concert of hers! It's crazy that she's still active after all these years (but I mean it's Suzi Quatro, she loves performing).

What I also found interesting, that the Chinn/Chapman duo wrote soooo many songs for sooo many bands/people (e.g. Smokie, Bonnie Tyler, Sweet, Exile, Toni Basil...). That's insane. It also explains why I like this music so much, ha.

[Neil Mach · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started working in music in the era of Suzi Quatro and so I was interested to read a book that would name-check (among others) Henry Winkler, Ron Howard, Aice Cooper, Debbie Harry, and a little known screen siren named Tallulah Bankhead. This book is a work of unfiltered & straightforward honesty... but maybe the 'asides' she constantly makes to little "Susie" get a bit tiresome after a while. Nonetheless, this is a riveting account of a girl who always found herself in the fast lane of rock 'n' roll; from the all-female garage rock band The Pleasure Seekers of the 1960s to working with Mickie Most, and going on tour with Thin Lizzy and Slade. Music fans always seem to credit The Runaways as the first serious Queens of Noise. Suzi came first!

[J.R. Murdock · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read, but ramble.

I’ve know of Sufi Quattro for some time and enjoy her music. Much like other rock star auto biographies, this one rambles , but in a different way. I could imagine being around her and listen to her tell a story to herself and answering herself when asking questions. Perhaps that’s part of her charm.

She isn’t shy about opening up emotionally with how things went and doesn’t sugar coat anything.

There are multiple spelling errors and grammatical errors in this version, enough to be distracting, but not taking away from the overall story of Sufi from Detroit’s life.


Keep on Rockin’!

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this autobiography by Suzi Quatro. Her writing was amusing and different. It’s amazing how she’s so unrecognized in the US. She inspired Joan Jett for crying out loud! Without Suzi there would be no Joan! I enjoy Suzi’s music so much it was great getting to read who her own inspirations were music wise.
I will say that the book was poorly edited if it was at all. So many spelling and sentence structuring mistakes and even missing or transposed words.

Now I’m off to listen to Suzi Quatro for the rest of the week.

[SuziQ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super leuk om te zien hoe Suzi Quatro van girl band naar rock en roller gaat. Wat belangrijke punten in haar leven waren en hoe ze die beleeft heeft. Het was heel prettig lezen en de twee perspectieven maakte het een losse sfeer. Ik heb genoten van haar verhaalstem(en) en heb nog meer bewondering voor wat ze doet en wie ze is.

[Jennifer]

Wow, Suzi Quatro is 70. And she is/was a much bigger celebrity in England, Australia, and Japan than here. That's interesting. I would have liked to learn more about her influences and how she learned to sing and the production on her songs, but this was an interesting read anyway.

[Tracy Plant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book

I thought this book was very well written. I have been a fan of Suzi Quotro since the 70s. She is vey open about her life with the ups and downs. It was a very fast read.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brought back a lot of memories

I had forgotten all about the Happy Day episodes. I love these historic looks into famous lives. I have since listened to the tunes which has been fun to do. This was an interesting read.

[Earthing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the writing - Suzi is a magnificent songwriter and storyteller. Brutally honest memoir.

[Khalid Al-Babtain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was interesting at the beginning, started to get boring towards the end!

[Lettice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable insight into a brilliant woman's life and career. Rock'n'roll, the Fonz, poetry and some of the real actual ghosts she's lived with all get a look in.

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read for any fan of Suzi, but as a book otherwise the quality is not the greatest.

[Vincenzo Ridente · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very candid no holds barred bio Suzi Quatro tells it like it is the good and the bad

[Chris Goodwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. The insights into her life are amazing. Many things you don't realize till you read it.

[Britni Grimm · Rating 2 out of 5]

I so truly wanted to love this book but I couldn’t even finish the first chapter. I’m just not the audience she is looking for. The writing itself is too casual, and therefore challenging to read.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Old charity shop purchase I've finally gotten around to reading, given the reviews on here I wasn't expecting much; but this was an enjoyable read as Suzi Quatro looks back fondly on her life and career. It's not stuffed with tales of rock star excess, or particularly insightful information about her song writing, but she discusses her family and her rise to fame in detail. I could have done without the notes to self, poetry and occasional typos, but it wasn't that bad and I had to no idea she had done so much work on TV or in the theatre, such as a musical on the life of Tallulah Bankhead. For someone who has a mild interest in her at best, I thought this was a fun read.

[Lesley Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read this book a few times, as I really enjoy music biographies / autobiographies and Suzi Quatro was an inspiration and an icon to a lot of young women with musical aspirations. It is a very candid book about Suzi's journey from gigging around the US as a teenager to fame and fortune in the UK - with a lot of hard work, professionalism and perseverance to get from A to B. I particularly liked how she included her family's dynamics and their collective (and very hurtful) response to her success.

As another reviewer has noted the book lacked a good edit and could have benefited from the input of a professional writer.

[Sinmara]

One of the better autobiographies, quite nicely written, not much dirt, but still insightful enough.

[Richard Marman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a fan, so I'm probably biased, but this was a well written and interesting story. I read it in a coupe of days.