Foreword by Morrissey

A name synonymous with ground-breaking music, Tony Visconti has worked with the most dynamic and influential names in pop, from T.Rex and Iggy Pop to David Bowie and U2. This is the compelling life story of the man who helped shape music history, and gives a unique, first-hand insight into life in London during the late 1960s and '70s. Soon after abandoning his native New York to pursue his musical career in the UK, Visconti was soon in the thick of the emerging glam rock movement, launching T.Rex to commercial success and working with the then-unknown David Bowie. Since his fateful move to the land of tea and beer drunk straight from the can, Visconti has worked with such names as T.Rex, Thin Lizzy, Wings, The Boomtown Rats, Marsha Hunt, Procol Harum, and more recently Ziggy Marley, Mercury Rev, the Manic Street Preachers and Morrissey on his acclaimed new album 'Ringleader of the Tormentors'. Even Visconti's personal life betrays an existence utterly immersed in music. Married to first to Siegrid Berman, then to Mary Hopkin and later to May Pang, he counts many of the musicians and producers he has worked with as close friends and is himself a celebrated musician.

This memoir takes you on a roller-coaster journey through the glory days of pop music, when men wore sequins and pop could truly rock. Visconti's unique access to the biggest names and hottest talent, both on stage and off, for over five decades is complemented by unseen photographs from his own personal archive, and offers a glimpse at music history that few have witnessed so intimately.

Tony Visconti is synonymous with ground-breaking music. He has worked with the most dynamic and influential names in pop, from T-Rex and Thin Lizzy to David Bowie, Morrissey and U2, and is hailed as one of the greatest music producers of all time.

However it is for his work with Marc Bolan and David Bowie that Visconti is most revered. His relationships with these artists has been hailed as two of the greatest artist/producer partnerships in pop history; Visconti has worked with Bowie on eleven albums to date.

With a back catalogue that reads like a who's who of the movers and shakers in popular culture, this memoir takes you on a roller-coaster journey through the glory days of pop music, when men wore sequins and pop really rocked.

Tony Visconti was born Brooklyn in 1944. His family's
traditional love of music ensured an early exposure to music that soon
developed into a life-long obsession. Following a chance meeting with his
`British music industry cousin', Denny Cordell-Laverick, Visconti moved to
the UK to begin one of the most famous careers in music production,
launching and supporting some of the biggest names in pop history. He has
now moved back to New York where he lives with his third wife, Mai Pang,
but continues working within the UK music scene.

2008-01-28 Nostalgia At It's Best

For me, like many, Tony Visconti was behind some of the 1970's pop and rock I cut my teeth on. Visconti covers his early life in New York, how he got into music - he seems to be one of those individuals who had a natural musical talent complimented by a desire and hunger to learn and acquire more - how more by luck and fortune he gets a job in London and then starts to produce T.Rex and David Bowie. There are glorius insights into the politics of music and having to deal (in Bolan's case) with inflated ego's. There is just enough insight into the technicalities of the recording studio, recording and production techniques and the change and development of equipment over nearly 40 years. He reflects on how the music industry got in the way of his three marriages including the one with Mary Hopkin, his daliance with alcohol and narcotics, his long term on/off professional relationship with Bowie and how he is still active in music production at the ripe old age of 64 (when the book was written).