Memoirs of a Geezer: Music, Mayhem, Life

by Jah Wobble

"Like his bass, the lows are low and the style upfront."— Financial Times "An exhilarating journey."— Mojo A frank and fascinating account of a geezer's life in the music business. Jah Wobble begins by offering the most authentic insider's account of the beginning of punk rock yet. He covers the celebrated ups of his career along with the downs, both personally and professionally. Throughout the book Wobble tells it like he sees it. Jah Wobble is one of the founding members of Public Image Limited (PiL) along with John Lydon. He is a bassist, singer, composer, poet, and music journalist.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, Autobiography, Contemporary

352 pages, Paperback

First published September 24, 2009

Reviews

[Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Public Image Ltd has hooked me on Jah Wobble when I first heard “Public Image”. Johnny (Lydon) Rotten’s band right after the Sex Pistols. Punk was moving to another world, and Wobble and his bass was taking me to another part of the neighborhood. Also being aware of the visuals of the bands and artists (which for me is extremely important), Wobble had a great look. A two-day beard, a suit, and strong facial features. He also seemed to have a wild sense of humor.
30 years later he wrote his first book, a memoir that is both culturally interesting as well as a personal statement on a life that is well lived. The cultural aspect is the first thing that got my attention in this book. The title says it all “Memoirs of a Geezer.”
A geezer I presume is British slang for a man, who is basically a good fellow. Wobble is obsessed with fellow citizens who were raised and went to public schools. Which is a high-class world of privilege. Wobble, by his nature, and being a hardcore East London mentality – hates that world. And this is one of the many things that make him interesting as well as a good document how the British see other English people.
Wobble strikes me as a personality, a character and at times a slightly dangerous man. Especially under the spell of alcohol. Jah Wobble hasn’t drink since the 80’s and through out his career he has made a series of great recordings. So what we have here is a musician struggling in 20th Century London. Of course the main interest is in the Public Image years, and they are fascinating. But equally fascinating again, is his take on being British and the class system. A really good read, and I think a must for those who are interested in the music world circ. 1970’s/1980’s.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memoirs of a Geezer has everything I look for in an autobiography: honesty, engaging writing, and frankness over well-known (and some personal, lesser known) parts of its author's eventful life so far.

London (especially the East End) is central to these events. Wobble has a long family history association with the area and its waterways. His memories of schools, churches, homes, pubs, streets and local characters are richly drawn. He evidently continues to love the city: the pull of its rivers and canals is beautifully conveyed in his descriptions of his regular walks.

Walking and his environment are just two of the many inspirations Wobble uses in his work: we learn that his album, Spinner, for example, was, "meant to be a 'walking record'". His wide-ranging cultural influences stretch from the anthropology of the Roma people to William Blake (I had no idea that Wobble had, "made 'The Tyger' into a mellow reggae number").

Wobble's openness of character is perhaps most evident when discussing his alcoholic past and his recovery, supported by attending Alcoholics Anonymous. His first experience changing him forever: "The profound sense of apartness and loneliness that I had always felt deep in my heart was lifted that evening." Regular meetings led to him feeling, "unconditionally accepted".

Wobble does not shy away from his experiences of fame, international travel, and collaborations with celebrated musicians and producers. Despite this, as the title suggests, Wobble remains down to earth (some of the social problems he touches on towards the end of the book, especially regarding drugs and housing, are still present today), and retains a healthy scepticism of the music business and all that entails.

[Edmole · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a good read, but Jah Wobble is a MASSIVE twat. Throughout the book he comes across as boorish, insecure, selfish, violent, unpleasant and pretentious, while continually accusing other people of being those things. He makes pathetic retractions of his awful behaviour which make it much worse. He has been disowned by his two daughters from his first marriage and you can see why.

Reminds me of the sort of awful men who start fights outside pubs on a Friday night under false pretexts and then put it down, as Jah does in the title, to being a 'geezer'. Prick.

[Kerri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I would have punched him too!

[Mark Love · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jah Wobble is a geezer. It's official. He was there, he did it, he did it some more, and he lived to tell the tale, and it's quite a tale.

From his schooldays with Johnny Rotten, through punk, post-punk (with Public Image Limited) and beyond it's a story of booze, drugs, fights, japes, more booze and always the deepest sonic basslines.

The writing isn't great, but the scenes he invoke are - especially from the perspective of his sober and spiritual middle-aged self (with wry reflections inserted in italics). One thing that strikes me is that they were all so young!! He'd lived more by the age of 20 than most achieve in a lifetime (one guy in the book ran off to be photographer with Bob Marley when he was 14 forchristsake)

The many highs, and the equally many lows (including time working on the tube "I used to be someone" over the tannoy) are given equal attention, but it's always about the music. He dishes the dirt on everyone he came into contact with, from Brian Eno and Scorcese to Jo Brand and Sean Hughes and (refeshingly for an autobiography) he doesn't always come off well himself.

Thanks to Tom for lending it to me. I expect you want it back!

[Lee Osborne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first discovered Jah Wobble's work when I saw him at a festival in 1994, performing material from the stunning "Take Me To God" album. I didn't see him again until a concert in Glasgow last month, and I picked up a copy of this book from the merch stand.

It's a very interesting story of his youth, his discovery of music and involvement in the punk scene, leading on to his time with Public Image Ltd. He covers this in quite a lot of detail. He then goes on to his solo career and the ups and downs of his life since.

The material is fascinating and the book is very well written. I was all ready to give this a 4-star review (I save 5 for the truly exceptional) right up until the final couple of chapters, which didn't leave the nicest taste in my mouth. I've read plenty of good books by people I haven't liked, and I try not to let my perceptions of people colour my opinion of their work too much, but I found a few of his opinions a bit hard to stomach, and got the impression he could be a nasty piece of work.

That said, I remain a big fan of his very varied material, and his gigs are more fun than you can shake a stick at, so it was a very satisfying read.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, he could have used an editor to weed out his excessive use of "To be honest" and "I have to admit." However, this doesn't get in the way of fascinating stories about PiL, London, the English class system, the music business, and Jah Wobble's rough an tumble story from wise-ass alcoholic solo performer in the 80's to sober wise-ass prolific creator of an impressive batch of work in the next 20 years. For a non-Brit, a short glossary of English slang would be helpful.

[Chris Lilly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Deeply unpleasant and trivial exercise in name-dropping and being a professional Cockernee geezah. And numerous references to David Jaymes (his ex-manager) highlight the poptastic Modern Romance and ignore the wonderful and very East End Leyton Buzzards. His thoughts on Bangladeshi gang racism taking over his East End are deeply troubling, and unrecognisable to someone who lived in Tower Hamlets at the same time.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not ghost written. Ought to have been.

[Jodi Gianakopoulos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweetest guy. Sweet book.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Jah Wobble is a legendary bassist and hearing all about the punk scene and pil is wonderful. The book goes off track with Tower hamlets at the end, hence 4 stars

[Stephen Watt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such is the narrow and short-lived lens we look at footballers and musicians with, it was almost impossible to think of Jah Wobble beyond PiL (Public Image Ltd). Deservedly, the PiL chapter of Wobble’s life is a fascinating and exhilarating ride, but there is so much more to this incredible man; poet, artist, family man, alcoholic, Buddhist, innovator - you can choose your own description, but the honesty and balance of this book makes it a spectacular read which doesn’t hold back punches.

A lot of love goes into the stories which Wobble has experienced - but equally so, the sharp end of his tongue is not found wanting when people have bruised his pride.

This is a fairly vast book, over 400 pages, but one well worth reading to understand how one becomes a punk - and then how one excels themselves beyond those perimeters.

[Ray Smillie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jah Wobble is, indeed, a geezer. Started off with control freak, John Lydon, in Public Image. It all went a bit sour for Wobble but, as he freely admits here, he will always be grateful for his time in the band, a time which set him on an interesting path. Not a smooth path, having to work full time outside the world of music for a while, however he was always destined to return, given his most excellent bass playing skills and ear for music. Top geezer.

[Rowena Macdonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great. Funny, honest, interesting. I met Jah Wobble at my friend Travis Elborough's event at The Academy Club. I particularly liked the sections about east London, where he grew up, as I live there now. His assessment of Tower Hamlets and the interracial strife of the late 90s was interesting. Was amused by his scathing take on various well-known cultural titans, such as Brian Eno and Iain Sinclair.

[Amar · Rating 3 out of 5]

East End geezer blazing an unapologetic trail through the music industry, never suffering fools gladly, rambling with humour, wit and frequent shots of insight. Enjoyable, at its best when documenting shifting culture in Britain from the 1970s to the 2000s.

[Tuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

took me awhile to really figure out what a geezer is. this book would be fairly interesting for 70s 80s 90s 00s music fans, fans of east end and london. well written and does a good job of trying to look at the big picture in music biz and not hold too many grudges, but that said, Wooble IS A RIGHT GEEZER so does not hold back calling a cunt a cunt, and mixing it up with the Bangladeshy gangs invading his neighborhood when the need arises. has some good citations to good music and other good books to read too, but just in the text, no discography or bibliography.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nicely written, with a lot of humorous anecdotes. Wobble doesn't dwell too much on some of the more gritty moments in regard to drug use, or Sid Vicious' death (which is not mentioned at all). Some of that's been well covered everywhere under the sun. It's interesting to gain perspective on how his career moved along it's path and how certain decisions were made.

[Kevin Tindell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read. Tale from the early days of punk, fighting alcohol and drug dependency in the 80s through the current days of Buddhism and calm. I was prompted to look into his back catalogue and didn't realise it was so huge. There is some great music to discover. Well written, humorous and thoroughly enjoyable.

[Devowasright · Rating 5 out of 5]

everything i want an autobiography to be. extremely well written, flows like a conversation, with all its little asides and branches, and the most random (and thus even funnier) splashes of wit.

[Gary Shindler · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book didn't keep my interest level up throughout. I found that the most interesting parts were the PIL years. Lydon's memoir is better.

[Andrew Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book by a great bloke , real Londoners do still exist.

[Blake Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great descriptions of London and the early punk rock scene. Sid and John Lydon and the PiL days....

[Kurt Reighley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as charming as the man and his music.

[Steve Porter · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are plenty of books about London and the punk scene of the 1970’s. Refreshingly, in this autobiography, John Wardle (named Jah Wobble by a drunken Sid Vicious) doesn’t spend hundreds of pages covering that territory. “I was bored witless by most of the bands on the punk scene,” he says. This statement is not too surprising if you are familiar with the diverse musical forays and collaborations of this bass maestro.

So, there is only one chapter on punk and a couple on his time in Public Image Ltd, including insight into the making of the Metal Box album and the band’s internal conflicts. Having read John Lydon’s Anger is an Energy just last year, I can’t help but compare. Both are Londoners of Irish stock and neither suffers fools gladly. It’s safe to assume they don’t send each other Christmas cards. But in his MOAG, Wobble comes across as the less resentful of the two. He appears more willing to put grudges aside, to acknowledge a dispute and then move on with few hard feelings. Interestingly, he reckons Lydon has more in common with Malcolm McLaren than he’d like to think.

Wobble is no shrinking violet, of course. You wonder at times what he might be brushing under the carpet. When he does let rip some of his targets are surprising – the comedian Sean Hughes for example, who he met on an episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

A down-to-earth Cockney humour has helped carry Wobble through his darkest times, which led to him giving up drink and drugs way back in the 80’s. One of the book’s funniest moments is when he describes another East End geezer called Shrew. “Even when things were going well, he “Shrew” would be disappointed… I once said to Shrew, “Have you ever considered topping yourself? “Yes,” he said, “But I know they would all be down the pub gloating, saying, oh well it was always on the cards… well, I ain’t gonna give them the pleasure.”

Memoirs of a Geezer wonderfully describes life and changes in East London over the last 50 years or so. And is informative about Wobble’s music and varied career (including temporarily giving up the profession to work on the London Underground). Thankfully, for his fans, he soon returned and has released a vast output of music, much of which is well worth checking out. There’s a section near the end of this memoir called The Thorny Issue of Race. It sounds like uncomfortable reading and may well be for some. I find some of JW’s thoughts and comments surprising here given his multi-cultural track record and upbringing. But, as ever, Wobble calls it as he sees it.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Wardle tells his stories with often disarming honesty and frequently conjures up vivid and evocative pictures of episodes from his life. Despite the dark undercurrent of his earlier years with their propensity for excess and addiction, he does not really convey the unhappiness of that period although he frequently acknowledges that it was not good. Instead he focuses on the positives of his present life, the overwhelming feeling that he has been lucky. A couple of years ago I spent an evening in his company as he told many of these stories and there is a slight sense of these being set pieces but they rarely sound jaded. The writing accurately follows John's speaking style, which is appealing in many ways although the editors might perhaps have suggested removing some of the "to be honest"s.