Nothin' But a Good Time - by Justin Quirk (Paperback)

About the Book

Subtitle on cover: The spectacular rise and fall of hair metal.

Book Synopsis

From 1983 until 1991, Glam Metal was the sound of American culture. This was the world stalked by Hair Metal bands like Bon Jovi, Kiss, W.A.S.P., Skid Row, Dokken, Motley Crue, Cinderella, Ratt and many more. Big hair, massive amplifiers, drugs, alcohol, piles of money and life-threatening pyrotechnics. Armed with hairspray, spandex and strangely shaped guitars, they marked the last great era of supersize bands.

Where did Glam Metal come from? How did it spread? What killed it off? And why does nobody admit to having been a Glam Metaller anymore?

Review Quotes

"He doesn't shy away from his subject's dark side--recounting deaths at concerts due to inadequate crowd control--and lends his narrative depth by noting how the genre functioned as an "embodiment of a positivity culture" amid the political and cultural crises (such as the Iran-Contra affair and the crack epidemic) happening in America during the Reagan administration. This is a head-banging good time." -- Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Justin Quirk is a writer and editor based in London. Since starting his career at the Guardian, he has written for titles including i-D, Dazed and Confused, Kerrang!, Q, Word, the Independent, The Sunday Times, Arena and Esquire. He has also worked as a curator, DJ and creative director and regularly appears on the BBC World Service discussing culture and current affairs. He lives in London.