Not a real review as such, but I really enjoyed this book (just out in paperback). Jeff "Stinky" Turner was still at school when the Rejects were first on Top Of The Pops and there's a touching innocence and honesty to this book that very few "Punk" autobiographies approach. A good example of this is when the Rejects sign their first contract with EMI they get a cheque for five hundred pounds a piece which Stinky cashes and immediately heads for the school tuck shop to stock up on sweets! Not a Danny Sugarman job this
Of course there's plenty of brawling, you couldn't tell the Rejects story without it, but its not a "geezer" book with the author looking to big himself up through all the people he's beaten up at all. It seems at times that these things just "happen" to the hapless Rejects and when they are out of order or just plain "thick" the author is honest enough to own up. In a way its a sad story as the band successfully shot themselves in the foot again and again after that great first LP, unwittingly narrowing their appeal by identifying too closely with West Ham FC via the cup final single, a move into Metal which was necessary when mob violence at a gig in Birmingham meant they couldn't play live in the UK and then after that its just a litany of naive mistakes that bad management did nothing to remedy. Their last stand in the US after the mellow "Quiet Storm" LP is quite harrowing and after that there wasn't anywhere else for the Rejects to go.
This book is stuffed full of humour though (There's a great story of how Stinky's other band the Postmen pulled the wool over John Peel and John Waters eyes when they thought they had discovered the latest Post Punk legends) and Bushell creditably manages to keep his trademarks to a minimum so you get Jeff Turner's voice rather than Garry's usual polemic. Overall you get to hear the man behind the facade and you can't help but root for him and its good to hear that the Rejects comeback has worked out well for all concerned. A very good read.
