Music fans looking for more vintage fare will enjoy Too Late To Stop Now.” —The Independent
“The old-school drinking and industrial drug abuse remain, as does the author's decisive indiscretion... many of the chapters unfold at greater length, leaving room for more nuanced reflection on the consequences of all the excessive ribaldry... But mostly, there is comedy... It's ridiculous fun.” —Uncut
“This unputdownable book ... is rammed with finely recounted anecdotes. This is a first-class Rolls Royce Phantom of a book.” —Paul Davies, Hard Rock Hell
“That the book's subtitle is More Rock'N'Roll War Stories speaks volumes. Because if you want blood, Allan Jones has got it.” —The Telegraph
“Jones turns it up to 11 with his latest collection. These are captivating and absolutely delightful tales of rock's wonder and power.” —Library Journal
“There's unexpected music in Jones's sentences. (Genesis reminded him "less of a rock band than the bell-bottomed equivalent of the school chess team on an outing to an owl sanctuary.") Also unexpected: the disclosure that concludes Too Late to Stop Now. It's 2021, and Jones is invited to tag along on one last gig but realizes that, although "[f]orty-five years ago... I would have jumped on the bus without a second thought," he would prefer to go home to his memories. How lucky for rock diehards that he shares those memories here.” —Shelf Awareness
“[Jones] knows when to joyfully exploit a glib moment and when to relent to the darkness, like when he goes into extensive detail with Chrissie Hynde about the tragic collapse of the original Pretenders. And there are times when he dead centers the bullseye while taking the measure of his subject. [... If you are looking for a book that gives] a real sense of what real rock and roll was like on either side of the Punk detonation, then look no further.” —Joe Silva, Tracking Angle
“Seldom has a rock 'n' roll memoir been so falling-down funny. Jones doesn't sit there politely with his notebook and write down the same rote publicist-approved quotes. He waits until they're completely sloshed, without inhibitions, and then the truth comes out.” —The New York Journal of Books
“[The book's best pieces] combine Jones' intimate interactions with his interview subjects over time with the sodden interviews recounting them to create insightful portraits of individuals and informed histories of their bands.” —Washington Independent Review of Books
“If you love being regaled with stories of days gone by, you're in for a treat. British music journalist Allan Jones welcomes you to the fold and revisits some of the most outlandish encounters, anecdotes, and ordeals from his time as writer and editor at Melody Maker beginning in the 1970s. With Chrissie Hynde's hot take on the Pretenders, John Cale's tea on his toxic frenemy-ship with Lou Reed, and even more drugged-up antics from the glory days of music journalism, the book does not disappoint.” —Rolling Stone
04/01/2023
In 1974, award-winning British music journalist Jones applied for a music press job at Melody Maker (MM), telling the magazine that it "needs a bullet up the arse. I'm the gun, pull the trigger." He was hired and became editor in 1984. In 1997, he launched Uncut magazine and used his column "Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before" to tell stories from his time as a rock reporter. In 2017, his first book, Can't Stand Up for Falling Down, collected 80 of those stories, and 50 more are collected here. And such stories! In his time at MM, Jones interviewed key figures, such as Elton John, Elvis Costello, Sting, Bryan Ferry, Nick Lowe, and Elmore Leonard. The best chapters, required reading really, are those discussing the Velvet Underground and the Clash. Jones has a remarkable memory, all the more so since he seems to have spent at least as much time drinking and drugging as his subjects. In hotels, on the road, backstage, and on the bus, Jones documented the moments that count. VERDICT Jones turns it up to 11 with his latest collection. These are captivating and absolutely delightful tales of rock's wonder and power.—Bill Baars
