Synopsis
Beginning with the Weathermen explosion in Greenwich Village and ending with punk, the Seventies was the age of extremes, sex, drugs and, of course, rock 'n' roll. Traveling between the underground scenes of London, New York, and California, Barry Miles remembers encounters with the legends of the decade. In the Seventies is a memoir that challenges modern perceptions of the Seventies with great anecdotes featuring a larger than life cast of characters. Barry Miles is the author of the bestseller Hippie and has written biographies of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Frank Zappa, Jack Kerouac, and Allen Ginsberg in addition to books on The Beatles and The Clash., In The Seventies tells the story of London and New York during the decade that is often written off as one long hangover after the exuberance of the sixties. Miles remembers a fascinating period in which many of the hippie dreams became realities, and others came back in shiny new clothes at the advent of the punk revolution. Beginning with Allen Ginsberg's hippie commune in upstate New York and moving on to his time cataloguing William Burroughs' archives in London, Miles remembers the decade that began with David Bowie in drag and ended with Grace Jones naked at Studio 54. Writing for NME, he reported on both the CBGBs scene and was the first to review and interview The Clash, The Ramones, Talking Heads and Patti Smith. Engaging and idealistic, In the Seventies is a memoir that challenges modern perceptions of the decade with great anecdotes featuring an extraordinary cast of characters, from Allen Ginsberg to Richard Hell, Leonard Cohen to Brian Eno.
