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Johnny Thunders: In Cold Blood: The Official Biography: Revised & Updated Edition Paperback – July 11, 2023

by Nina Antonia (Author), Mike Scott (Foreword)

4.5 52 ratings

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Johnny Thunders: In Cold Blood is the definitive portrait of the condemned man of rock’n’roll, from the baptism of fire and tragedy that was the New York Dolls, through the junkie punk years of the Heartbreakers, to his sudden and mysterious death in 1991. It is an unflinching account of a unique guitarist whose drug problems often overshadowed his considerable style and talent, but whose unquestionable influence on glam, punk, and more still resonates today.

Nina Antonia discovered Johnny Thunders and the New York Dolls as a teenager and spent her formative years as a dedicated fan before starting work on this book in her twenties. Then, when Johnny and his manager read her early drafts, they decided she should make it an authorised biography and granted her unique access to Johnny’s life. As such, it begins by painting a historical portrait of Thunders and his early life and work before shifting into the present tense as Nina vividly describes her own experiences with the real-life Johnny and his associates.

First published in 1987, Johnny Thunders: In Cold Blood has been kept alive over the years by an audience that isn’t always catered for. While the New York Dolls are now rightly acknowledged as having been as pivotal as the Velvet Underground, and you might catch the odd fashionista sporting a Dolls T-shirt, Johnny’s dark flame burns for those who have known adversity. He is the voice of the disenfranchised; he is every gifted son or daughter who went off the rails. Like Jesse James or James Dean, he couldn’t come in from the badlands of rock’n’roll; he wouldn’t appease or kowtow to the establishment.

This new edition adds a new closing chapter, bringing Thunders’ legacy up to date, new photographs, and a foreword by Mike Scott of The Waterboys.

Print length

272 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Jawbone Press
Publication date

July 11, 2023
Dimensions

6 x 0.75 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

1911036114
ISBN-13

978-1911036111
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nina Antonia is a former music journalist who has contributed to Uncut, Mojo, Classic Rock, and Record Collector. Since Johnny Thunders: In Cold Blood was first published in 1987, she has written biographies of the New York Dolls and Peter Perrett of The Only Ones and has edited the diaries of the Libertines’ Pete Doherty. She has appeared on BBC Radio One and 6 Music, performed at spoken-word events, held a retrospective at the Barbican, and lectured on glam at the Tate Liverpool. She has also featured in various documentaries, including Danny Garcia’s poignant film Looking For Johnny. Johnny himself called her ‘the smartest chick I ever met’.

Mike Scott was born in Edinburgh and has led The Waterboys since 1983, during which time he has achieved widespread success with albums including This Is The Sea, Fisherman's Blues, Room To Roam, and Modern Blues. He continues to push musical boundaries and tours regularly with new and reconfigured versions of his legendary band.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Jawbone Press; Updated edition (July 11, 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1911036114
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1911036111
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.07 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.75 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #476,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #80 in Punk Musician Biographies
- #156 in Punk Music (Books)
- #1,034 in Music History & Criticism (Books)

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4.5 52 ratings

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“The Smartest Chick I ever met.” – Johnny Thunders
“Nina Writes, Seen her Riot.” – Peter Doherty
“Priceless Books for One Such as I.” – Morrissey
“Nina Antonia Makes a fascinating Story, Irresistible.” – Uncut
Nina Antonia (Liverpool, 1960) is a former music journalist, who has contributed to Uncut, Mojo, Classic Rock and Record Collector. Her first and best known book Johnny Thunders – In Cold Blood is currently being made into a feature film, with Jonas Akerlund set to direct. Johnny described Nina as ‘The smartest chick I’ve ever met.’ Of her book The New York Dolls – Too Much Too Soon (Omnibus, 1998), Uncut magazine commented ‘Nina Antonia makes a fascinating story irresistible.’ Antonia is also featured in the Sundance Film Festival’s nominated documentary New York Doll about Arthur “Killer” Kane alongside Morrissey, Mick Jones, David Johansen, Clem Burke, and Iggy Pop and Nina appears in Danny Garcia’s poignant documentary Looking For Johnny. As well as appearing on Radio One and Radio Six, Nina has performed at spoken word events and enjoyed a retrospective of her work at the Barbican curated by Jay Clifton. Jay Clifton commented that ‘The special value of Nina’s oeuvre lies not so much in her subjects, but in her personal commitment to both the documentation of them and a search for the truth about both their character and their cultural significance. Like the best writers, she begins from personal fascinations. But with a balance of personal feelings and objective contemplation, combined with a fluid literary style, she writes books that resonate beyond the parameters of the surface material.’ Nina lectured on Glam at Tate Liverpool in 2013 which can be seen via YouTube in Parts 1 and 2. In 2016, Nina had her first supernatural piece South-West 13 published in an Egaeus Press anthology Soliloquy for Pan which sold out within days. She has continued to contribute to Egaeus, penning a novella length essay How Shall Dead Men Sing about Lord Alfred Douglas and Oscar Wilde. Another essay Bosie and The Beast appeared in Fenris Wolf 8 in 2017. Nina’s first supernatural novel The Greenwood Faun is currently available for purchase via Egaeus. In 2019, she edited and wrote a detailed biography for Incurable: The Haunted Writings of Lionel Johnson, the Decadent Era’s Dark Angel that was published by Strange Attractor Press.
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4.5 out of 5

52 global ratings

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Linda H.

" Looking for Johnny "

Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2023

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And with this book I found him.
Excellent read about a Rock n Roll Icon.

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MJG

Superb Biography - A great read even if you aren't a fan

Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2006

Verified Purchase

Nina Antonia is a fantastic writer. I read through the 200+ pages in a day.

What I most enjoyed about this book is that it made Johnny out to be human - something no other press/media outlet acknowledged. Throughout the 80's he struggled valiantly against his addiction, only to fail. But never for a moment did he stop missing his children, regretting the time he spent away from them. This book doesn't try to sanitize his life. It details the depths of his addiction, his failures and lost opportunities. However, Nina also talks about the hope that he found later in life.

There are dozens of photos throughout the book - my favorite of which is a picture of a sober-looking Johnny and his girlfriend pushing their child in a stroller. It says a lot about the man: However strung out and wasted he could get, in his heart he was just a normal guy. It's too bad he became a parody of the thing his "fans" wanted him to be.

He was one of the very last of a breed of Rock 'N' Rollers that we will never see again and a presence as powerful as his will be sorely missed.

We miss you, Johnny.

13 people found this helpful

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Jennifer Blue

Johnny Thunders In Cold Blood

Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2010

Verified Purchase

Nina Antonia offers a very subjective and even-handed view of the career of rock legend Johnny Thunders. Ms. Antonia's book is the most comprehensive glimpse of Mr. Thunders' life that I have seen. Nina Antonia fastidiously outlines the career of this seminal rock & roll icon. The only drawback was that I found myself pining for more details about Mr. Thunders' personal life.

2 people found this helpful

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Radio user

He was more than a junkie...

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2010

Verified Purchase

If one wants to find out about the man behind the myth and music this book is one way to do it. Although somewhat masking the depths to which he sunk (Alan Hauser's diary entries on the old Jungle Records website make this aspect of Johnny a little clearer) the facts early in the book shed a little light on why he turned out like he did. How he struggled to find a way back from those depths is heartbreaking but shows that despite his addictions he did find a way back. Just a little too late for a happy outcome. He was a father who anguished so much about mistakes he'd made that the pain is what really killed him. He did leave behind some of the best rock 'n' roll ever made and he changed the course of music for the better. He was a unique and gifted guitarist, with talent to burn and raw power to spare. Read for yourself about the man and his music. Then crank up LAMF or So Alone and listen...

9 people found this helpful

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Greg 'Stackhouse' Prevost

Johnny Thunders-In Cold Blood BOOK

Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2007

Verified Purchase

I had the original pressing from the late 80's or whenever it came out-got this version for my sister for Christmas--a great book and accounting of one of my fave guys JT. This is an updated verion as well-my only complaint is the part about when myself and Andy Babiuk (we are in The Chesterfield Kings) brought Johnny up to Rochester, NY to record an album-the reporting is accurate-and the track "Critic's Choice" is the last thing he recorded in the United States, or for that matter anywhere in a real studio--problem is Nina interviewed someone else--and they stated that he was incompatible with us, and we were impatient with him-NOT TRUE. We got along fine musically and socially-the problem was with the guy who owned the studio. He was screwing with JT, Johnny got miffed and the session only yielded one complete song and a batch of unfinished stuff. Nina-CALL ME THE NEXT TIME YOU UPDATE?? Greg Prevost/Outasite/Chesterfield Kings

14 people found this helpful

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Veronica Stroh

Interesting and emotional read.

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2015

Verified Purchase

I have been fascinated with Johnny since my friend showed me a video of him playing Pipeline. I wanted to know more about him imediately and was turned to this book. Well written and kept me hooked until the end, providing a window to Johnny's rollercoaster of music industry mishaps combined with drug abuse that shaped a career that never reached it's potential. Johnny's story is sad but he never stopped trying to be great and in the end I think that's what made him a legacy.

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susan phelan

long live johnny thunders

Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2014

Verified Purchase

I grew up listening to johnny. With the dolls and the heartbreakers , gang war and solo and finally the oddballs. i mean literally. im 6 1/2 mo. older than he would be now. i remember the young innocent johnny as well as the obnoxious drugged out drunkin johnny. all in all you just couldnt not love him. a must read for any fan.

2 people found this helpful

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Big T.

D.T.K. L.A.M.F., right on

Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2011

Verified Purchase

The man, the myth, the mess and the whole story!!! Good history and a great read. Must have for any Dolls or Thunders fan!! (Teddy Heavens)

One person found this helpful

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Clarkey

An interesting read

Reviewed in Canada on January 4, 2024

Verified Purchase

Great read about an interesting rock and roll legend!

Amazon カスタマー

残念

Reviewed in Japan on October 3, 2023

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初版のように写真が沢山あるかと思ったのですが。初版そのものを再発行して欲しいですね。

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Monalisabay

JEANNOT TONNERRES

Reviewed in France on April 3, 2015

Verified Purchase

Une biographie de Johnny Thunders, évidemment il faut la lire en anglais, car comme souvent pour ce qui a trait au rock en France, il n'y a pas de traduction. Le parcours chaotique de l'ex- New York Dolls, puis Heartbreakers, trop fréquemment sous-estimé et considéré avant tout comme un junkie par l'intelligentsia du rock, alors qu'avant toute chose Johnny Thunders était et restera un guitariste sous tension au style et au son unique, un chanteur fragile et survolté, un auteur-compositeur admiré par ses pairs et un dandy magnifique au charisme éblouissant. Et pour couronner le tout, il manque terriblement de confiance en lui et il a la poisse aux fesses... Si vous n'êtes pas d'accord, alors lisez plutôt autre chose

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K P BARBER

A labour of love

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 29, 2013

Verified Purchase

Excellently written, a fascinating life story of JT & his seemingly unavoidable knack of grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory.....contains many rare & previously unseen photos & a poignant update from the original publication of Johnnys sad death in New Orleans.
A book worthy of a punk legend.

Rhoda

Good book.

Reviewed in Canada on April 22, 2018

Verified Purchase

Not bad. I've read a few books about the NYD. This one sheds light on many JT things.

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