Can't Stand Up for Falling Down: Rock'n'roll War Stories

2017 | Essays

Now collected in a single volume for the first time, journalist Allan Jones selects his favourite columns from Uncut magazine's Stop Me feature. Covering the highs and lows (mostly lows) of being a music journalist in the 1970s and 1980s. Jones was there when the Sex Pistols were arrested, was whisked off to Sweden by Lou Reed, was with The Police at their historic concert in Bombay and interviewed David Bowie when he introduced The Thin White Duke. Allan Jones is a British music journalist and editor. He joined the staff of Melody Maker in 1974 and became editor ten years later. Jones was described on stage by Roger Waters as a "stupid shit" after writing a scathing review of Pink Floyd's The Wall show at Earls Court Exhibition Centre. During his tenure, Melody Maker provided early publicity for bands ranging from The Stone Roses to Pearl Jam. One of Jones's most significant early decisions was to resist the publisher's instruction to put Kajagoogoo on the cover; instead, Jones chose The Smiths. Between 1997 and 2014, Jones was editor of music and film monthly Uncut.

His column Stop Me, based on his experiences with musicians as a journalist in the 70s and 80s was one of the magazine's most popular features.

Allan Jones (Author)