Gus and Me

Reviews / Votes

Richards has written an opus on a lifetime of brutal honesty, an all-encompassing account of what it's been like to be one of the coolest rock stars in the world. THE ATLANTIC Electrifying... the intimate and moving story of one man's long strange trip over the decades, told in dead-on, visceral prose without any of the pretense, caution or self-consciousness that usually attend great artists sitting for their self-portraits. NEW YORK TIMES an absolute blast... mesmerizing. It is like being button-holed by a piratical ancient mariner with amazing tales to tell. But Life offers much more than vicarious thrills. It captures the true spirit of rock and roll... It also movingly captures Richards's extraordinary love of music...and perhaps more surprisingly, his manifest decency as a human being...how good is it that this hugely endearing rock and roll legend...is able to describe his extraordinary life with such honesty and panache. -- Charles Spencer THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH a fascinating book; by turns appalling, rambling, hilarious and even surprisingly touching... Life is an important addition to rock literature, giving fresh insights into the working dynamic between Richards and Jagger... Life crackles with the authentic, likeable voice of a man who is not what you think DAILY MAIL the very existence of this book is a marker against the ravages of time. It suggests Richards's memory is fresh in a way that his face isn't...funnier than Spinal Tap's reminiscences of their native Squatney... And he can be tender, too... There's a junkie-artist frankness throughout, coupled with a refusal to omit things: how he plays the guitar, how post-gig coupling works, and his recipe for bangers and mash (don't try it at home). -- Tom Payne THE DAILY TELEGRAPH one of the most honest, amusing, no-holds-barred rock biographies I have ever read... informative and often amusing with no excuses or false contrition... there is something for everyone here, even a particularly good recipe for bangers and mash. -- Barry Miles NEW STATESMAN Entertaining...a slurry romp through the life of a man who knew every pleasure, denied himself nothing, and never paid the price. -- David Remnick THE NEW YORKER He is not just a credit to Sidcup Art School; he is an inspiration to every London child who peeps a recorder or strums a guitar. I cannot think of another member of the British artistic, cultural or media world who has done so much or who has so widely penetrated the global consciousness. David Attenborough? Stephen Fry? He knocks them into a cocked hat... Arise Sir Keef, I say, and if there were any damn merit in it, he would have the Order of Merit, too. -- Boris Johnson