Product Description

This is not a book about rock music: it is a book about rock life. A Black Sabbath fan from a working-class family in London, Mick Wall found a job with the band when he left school and began an association with a group of individuals who would seal his fate forever. In this book, he tells the story of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath, and provides a frank, inside look at the rock industry. A cast of characters appears throughout, including Jimmy Page, Axl Rose, Jon Bon Jovi, Lemmy, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Def Leppard and Deep Purple.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #575699 in Books
• Published on: 1999-02-25
• Released on: 1999-02-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Another book about Black Sabbath? Ozzy biting the heads off chickens and all that? Err, sort of. Ozzy and his Brummie mates are certainly in this book and there's plenty of rock star excess for anyone who likes that sort of thing. But Paranoid is not really about rock stars at all. What Paranoid is really about is the writer Mick Wall. Or to be absolutely precise it's about Mick Wall's heroin addiction and opens with a mainlining scene so revolting as to make Irvine Welsh blanch. Wall was a chancer in the rock PR industry in the late 1970s when introduced to smack by no less a connoisseur than Phil Lynott back stage at the Marquee. We then get a blow-by-blow account of being stoned in music paper offices, in hotels and, of course, back stage. There's a great bit at the American Live Aid gig-- Ozzy wanted to do "Food Glorious Food" for an Encore--and walk-on parts for Stevie Nicks and David Bowie. But while the rock industry likes to make much of walking on the wild side, this book does us all a favour by skulking on the sad side. --Nick Wroe

Customer Reviews

No holds barred, not for the faint hearted!
Paranoid is essential reading for anyone who likes to see beyond the hype, marketing and gloss of an international multi million pound industry. The text comes complete with many household names such as "Ozzy" and "Guns N Roses". Throughout we are taken on a tour of the authors heroin addiction. It is an intense and indepth blow by blow account of the few highs and the all too frequent lows of such a lifewrecking addiction. Thankfully a great deal of humour shines through over and above the darkness of the very descriptive passages. From start to finish "Paranoid" is without doubt a modern classic and essential reading for anyone of intelligence. Of course, if you are still "wet behind the ears" or "you run from reality", then perhaps this "diary of despair" is not for you.

WARNING - this book is not about Black Sabbath!
When you first read the title of this book, one assumes from reading the title and the photo of Ozzy on the front cover (which my copy had)that its about Black Sabbath. Be warned, its not.

Although the book does have a couple of stories about the Sabs, the book concentrates on Mick Wall's heroin addiction and his encounters with Phil Lynot, Kate Bush, Judas Priest etc.

I have read a lot of books detailing stories of rock stars nasty little habits, and this book by far is the most disappointing. I would have expected a lot better from this "respected" rock journo. I can't see any point as to why he wrote it (apart from a fat cheque perhaps) - it serves no purpose. All this book is, is a mish-mash of arrogantly written bland stories - such has how he used to toss a coin to decide if he gave a record a good review or a bad review. When he reviewed a film, he either got his mates to go to the screening, or read a review of the said film in Time Out Magazine and base his review from their writings. It certainly makes you lose faith in the reviews you read in the music press. If Wall did it, chances are that everyone else did the same thing too - and they are probably still doing it.

Only buy this book if it is a last resort - alternatively, if you want a really good rock & roll book to read, buy Motley Crue's "The Dirt". Its a million times better than this dirge.