Mick Wall, during the 80s, was probably the most respected Rock journalist of the era. The man the bands trusted. The man who fit in perfectly with them due to his not being star struck and his being able to hang with the bands and their activities. He made his name mainly as a writer for Kerrang!. In my mind he was the Rock writer. Malcome Dome was the Metal guy, Howard Johnson the Glam guy.
Eventually Wall turned his eyes towards the US and started to write for RAW magazine. His hands were in many ventures and many areas. Eventually wandering on his way to the pages of Classic Rock magazine.
Getcha Rocks Off . . . is an account of his breaking into journalism and different nuggets from the years after. The stories take us from the mid-70s up through the early 90s, with slightly stepping into current years. The bulk of the tales take place during those years and we are only brought up to current dates when mentioning current whereabouts or mentioning the last meeting with Lemmy (Motorhead).
The book takes us through many an encounter with Phil Lynott, a quick passing with Johnny Rotten, David Lee Roth, Ozzy Osbourne, Don Arden, Steve Clark, Jimmy Page, Guns N Roses, and a gigantic slew of supporting characters. The stories are outrageous, unbelievable, a little scary, and in the case of Clark, Lynott, and Lemmy, heartbreaking. The Lynott and Clarke stories due to their passings in the book. The Lemmy due to much of the subject matter (Lemmy telling Wall he isn't dying) and the book coming out before the truth being the opposite of what Lemmy had claimed.
There is no shortage of discussion of drugs, booze, or sex. Open any page and one will find any three of these being discussed. Wall himself abused all of these possibly more than all of his subjects combined, if his tales are to be believed. What I took away from this was what separated Wall from the others. Most of the Rock stars would be using to ridiculous levels, and then venturing out onto the night to further adventures. While Wall would usually seem to be ending up face down and unable to move.
On Mick Wall's website his own description of the book states:
"A semi-fictionalised account from a time when giants really did walk the earth, stalked by overpaid and overindulged rock writers like this one. You couldn’t make it up."So how much of what we are treated to his actually fact is a little questionable. I find it odd that the two lines, however, contradict themselves. If it is "semi-fictionalised" then you surely could make it up. I expect that much of the semi-fictionalized aspects are the bits of dialogue and the actual ways certain events played out. One bit with Rick James may also be a little bit of a stretch. Maybe.
The book is definitely fascinating. The stories are wild and fun. Mick Wall shows why he is considered to be one of the best. His writing also shows why he is trusted by the stars. At no point is any of this an attack. He is sure to speak honestly and humanize everybody he discusses. Axl Rose started as one of those on the side of Wall, but due to events he turned against him and railed against him in the temper-tantrum induced GnR tune "Get In The Ring." Wall speaks honestly about the events that lead to whine from Rose, but he never gets whiney back. He never attacks Rose. In fact, he is understanding of the person that Rose became, and he almost feels bad about the things that happened. It appears that Wall has always attempted to understand his subjects, rather than just make assumptions.
Getcha Rocks Off . . . is a great book. If you enjoy great writing, Rock N Roll, and a massive slice of debauchery, do yourself a favor and grab this and spend some time in a truly hedonistic past era.
