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BALLS, RICHARD: : SEX & DRUGS & ROCK 'N' ROLL: THE LIFE OF IAN DRURY

LONDON.OMNIBUS PRESS/BOOK SALES LIMITED,2000.

ISBN 0711877216.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn. FINE-/FINE. No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright, crisp,clean,matt,wrap-around white background with subject's b/w portrait photograph to front panel of dw/dj,with capitalised b/w lettered part title and author's name respectively, remainder of title - IAN DRURY - in bright,crisp capitalised gilt letters,thumbnail portrait repeated to head of spine with similarly coloured lettering to same,but author's name in black lettering and publisher's orange colophon to foot of spine,rear panel with subject's different thumbnail colour photograph and black-lettered publisher's blurb and critics' reviews. Dw/dj with negligible shelf-wear,bumping or creasing to edges and corners - no nicks,tears or splits present.Top edges with minimal, sporadic dust fleck blemishes but still bright and clean,fore-edges bright and clean without foxing/spotting; contents bright,tight,clean, solid and sound - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips - appears unread,other than my own collation.Publisher's bright,crisp, unblemished,sharp-cornered,original plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt lettered spine/backstrip which has gentle pushing to both head+foot,and immaculate plain white endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,7-336pp [paginated] includes author's acknowledgements,a Prologue,14 chapters,24pp contemporary b/w facsimile document,facsimle b/w double-page subject's artwork illustration,and subject's profuse contemporary b/w biographical photographs in 3 blocks of 8pp apiece,between pp97/7,pp192/93 and pp288/89 respectively,a Bibliography,Sources,a Discography and an Index; plus [unpaginated] title page,a dedication with blank verso,and a contents list/table also with blank verso. Author's debut book,commenced at the beginning of 1999,interviewing in excess of 50 people in the course of his research for it. Visually the exterior appearance is exceptional,and even internally,the book is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation for it's age.It really is an exceptional copy for its cleanliness, brightness and lack of detracting faults. This superb biography of one of British rock's true originals begins by revealing that Jack-the -lad,rhyming-slang Ian Drury was actually born in the middle-class London suburb of Harrow.His mother came from a landowning Irish family and his father drove a London bus before becoming a Rolls-Royce chauffeur. To get the true story of the rest of Ian Drury's bizarre life,author Richard Balls delved deep and interviewed many friends and acquaintances dating from the time when polio consigned the seven-year old Drury to a Dickensian world of harsh special schools and tough reliance. From the creation of Drury's dangerous image at art school through the long and spasmodic history of The Blockheads,there emerges a portrait of a uniquely strong personality whose appetites and talents spanned fine art,jazz,rock 'n' roll,theatre and movies.But Ian Drury was no saint.Here,too,are hilarious anecdotes of alcoholic excess,sexual braggadocio and a willful disregard for conventional behaviour that entertained - and occasionally exasperated - his many friends. Throughout his life,Drury mixed with stars and personalities,living with Jane Horrocks for over a year,once indulging in a punch-up with Omar Sharif and even acting in a film made by his art school contemporary Peter greenaway. Helped by Drury in the final months of his life,Richard Balls has succeeded in producing a riveting biography about a deeply emotional man who always acted tough.Between his childhood polio and the adult cancer that killed him at 57,Ian Drury just kept going,always producing original work and always living life to the full."I'm not here to be remembered," he said towards the end of his life."I'm here to be alive." In the course of the book there are vivid insights into a variety of worlds. . . harsh post-war schools for handicapped children. . . the Fifties art school scene that would give birth to so many rockers. . . the ramshackle pub rock circuit of Kilburn & The High Roads and The Blockheads. . . plus a lucky dip of celebrities from Omar Sharif and Robert Mitchum to Jane Horrocks,Peter Blake and Bob Dylan.  Drury's life was always a battle.As rocker, lyricist,artist and actor he was unsentimental and uncompromising.As a man he was harder to fathom - until now.In this classic rock biography,the self-styled "diamond geezer" stands revealed as a real diamond after all. Please contact seller,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas customers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard US AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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