Diary of a Rock 'n' Roll Star
Independent Music Press, ISBN 1-897783-09-4
![[Diary, 1974 issue]](images/diary74.jpg)
![[Diary, 1996 issue]](images/diary96.jpg)
For many years, the only book (apart from Willard Manus' novel which supplied the name) has been Ian Hunter's Diary of a Rock and Roll Star (published in the States under the title Reflections of a Rock and Roll Star), which was written during Mott's November/December 1972 tour of the USA.
It was written as it happened - on the plane, in hotel rooms, wherever. It chronicles the endless travelling, the hotels, sound-checks, performances... it strips away the glossy facade of the rock star the PR people would have us believe and lays bare what life is really like on the road.
Originally published in 1974, it was a best-seller for two years before the publishers discontinued it to concentrate on other titles. Thus, Diary gained cult status, becoming increasingly difficult to find, even in secondhand bookstores. But over the years, demand remained strong, until finally Ian's wife Trudi bought the rights to it (without telling Ian!).
Diary has now been re-published, this time by International Music Press. It has a new foreword by Andrew Collins (of Q magazine), and new notes on the back cover, but is otherwise identical to the original (as you would expect). Oh, and the price is GBP8.95 - my original 1974 copy cost 50p!
Good bookstores and record shops should have it; if not, then you should be able to order it by quoting the ISBN.
The October 1996 issue of Q magazine has given it a good review, saying that it "may well be the best rock book ever". I have heard from several people that it is certainly the best-written rock book... indeed, in April this year Per Stam from Sweden presented a paper at a literature/culture studies conference comparing Diary with Umberto Eco's Travels in Hyperreality, where he gave Hunter's book some praise and Eco's some complaints. Per hopes his paper will be published in a book from the conference.
Even if you are not a fan of Ian or Mott, this book is essential reading for any rock fan.