THE OX: The Last of The Great Rock Stars

The authorised biography of The Who's John Entwistle, here is the definitive, no-holds-barred biography of this legendary bassist. Drawing on his own notes for an unfinished autobiography that he started before his death in 2002, plus personal archives and interviews with family and friends, The Ox will give readers a never-before-seen glimpse into the two very distinctive poles of John Entwistle. On the one hand he was the rock star incarnate, larger than life, self-obsessed to a fault, and proudly and almost defiantly so. Extravagant with money, he famously shipped two vintage American cars across the Atlantic without having so much as a driver's licence, built and bigger and more grandiose bars into every home he owned, and amassed an extraordinary collection of possessions from arachnids, armour and weaponry to his Cuban-heeled boots. But beneath the fame and flutter he was also a man of simple tastes and traditional opinions, a devoted father and family man who loved nothing more than to wake up to a full English breakfast, or to have a supper of fish, chips and pint at his local pub. The self-styled lord of his baronial Cotswold manor house of the last 26 years rose from his bed around noon, bleary eyed and thick headed from indulging too much the night before, which was at the age of 57 all too often the case. Lisa Pritchett-Johnson, his American girlfriend, might have invited a gaggle of folk up to the house from the local pub. Entwistle would hardly even have known most of their names, but all of them would have raided the fully-stocked bar he kept downstairs and helped themselves to his drugs, Lisa cajoling them, always one drink and a line ahead of everyone else. He would have joined in regardless as it was never his style to be a bystander at a party. He and Lisa had vicious and spiteful fights but every morning he had his own well-established routine. He dressed in a crisp cowboy shirt, fresh-pressed jeans and a pair of moccasins, which would be changed for Cuban-heeled boots whenever he left the house. Not a crease in sight, or a hair out of place. Hung around his neck on a silver chain was a jewelled spider, gleaming with ruby-red eyes. After Entwistle?s untimely death, many of the stories in this book were shattered away by family, friends and loved ones, but now for the first time collected and we are introduced to the man behind the myth. 344pp, paperback well illustrated with colour and archive photos.