Jeff Apter – författare

The rise and fall of the brothers Gibb—Barry, Robin, Maurice, and younger brother Andy—is perhaps the greatest saga in Australian music history.

Although the Bee Gees enjoyed several rebirths in a career that spanned many decades, it seemed that tragedy followed the Gibbs like a curse. For every incredible career high there was a hefty personal downside: divorce, drunkenness, and death seemed as synonymous with the Gibbs as falsetto harmonies, flares, and multi-platinum record sales.

Not long before his death, Robin made it clear that he believed the Gibbs had been forced to pay the highest possible cost for their success. ‘All the tragedies my family has suffered . . . is a kind of karmic price we are paying for all the fame and fortune we’ve had.’

This is the story of the brothers’ incredible careers and an examination of the Gibb ‘curse’—an all-too-human look at the rollercoaster ride of fame.

Across five decades and counting, New Zealand-born singer/songwriter and Crowded House founder Neil Finn has become one of the best-loved figures in popular music, crafting enough hits along the way—‘Weather With You’, ‘Locked Out’, ‘I Got You’, ‘Fall At Your Feet’, ‘It’s Only Natural’, and of course ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’—to forge his very own one-man Great Antipodean Songbook.

One fateful day in April 1977, teenage Neil received a transcontinental phone call that would change his life. It was his older brother, Tim, calling from London, England, with a simple question: ‘Do you want to join the band?’ That band, the art-rock combo Split Enz, would provide the launchpad for a career that has taken in widespread international success with Crowded House, as a solo artist, back with Tim in The Finn Brothers, and as a touring member of Fleetwood Mac.

There have been bumps along the road, including repeated clashes with Tim and the tragic death of original Crowded House drummer Paul Hester, but taken as a whole, Finn’s story is one of the most inspiring musical sagas of modern times. Australian author and journalist Jeff Apter has observed Neil’s career from close quarters since the late 70s, from frantic early Enz gigs to private listening parties to huge reunion shows and numerous points in between, giving him the perfect perspective to write this intimate, even-handed biography.

Angus Young, the co-founder and the last surviving original member of AC/DC, has for more than 40 years been the face, sound and sometimes the exposed backside of the trailblazing rock band. In his trademark schoolboy outfit, guitar in hand, Angus has given his signature sound to songs such as 'A Long Way to the Top', 'Highway to Hell' and 'Back in Black', helping AC/DC become the biggest rock band on the planet.

High Voltage is the first biography to focus exclusively on Angus. It tells of his remarkable rise from working-class Glasgow and Sydney to the biggest stages in the world. The youngest of eight kids, Angus always seemed destined for a life in music, and it was his passion and determination that saw AC/DC become hard rock's greatest act.

Over the years, Angus has endured the devastating death of iconic vocalist Bon Scott, the forced retirement of his brother in arms, Malcolm Young, and more recently the loss from the band of singer Brian Johnson and drummer Phil Rudd. Yet somehow the little guitar maestro has kept AC/DC not just on the rails, but at the top of the rock pile.

Ensimmäinen elämäkertateos Angus Youngista, AC/DC:n perustajasta ja bändin viimeisestä alkuperäisjäsenestä.Teos kertoo viisivuotiaana kitaransoiton aloittaneen työläisperheen pojan uskomattoman matkan maailman suurimmille lavoille.Malcolm-veljen kanssa vuonna 1973 perustettu AC/DC on eräs maailman pitkäikäisimmistä ja suosituimmista rockyhtyeistä. Se julkaisi esikoisalbuminsa High Voltage Australiassa vuonna 1975. Vuosien varrella studioalbumeita on tullut 14 lisää, viimeisin Rock or Bust vuonna 2014. Maailmanlaajuisen albumimyynnin arvioidaan hipovan jo 200 miljoonaa.Matkan varrella on ollut paitsi menestystä, myös menetyksiä, pahimpina legendaarisen vokalistin Bon Scottin traaginen kuolema vain 33-vuotiaana sekä Malcolm-veljen sairastuminen Alzheimerin tautiin.Miehistönvaihdoksista ja vastoinkäymisistä huolimatta pieni, polvihousuinen kitaravelho on onnistunut pitämään bändinsä huipulla vuosikymmenten ajan.