The Hard Stuff

In the late 1960s, Wayne Kramer and his brothers in the radical Detroit punk group MC5 launched a heroic high energy rock and roll assault on US culture in an attempt to bring down the government with a gonzoid manifesto of 'dope, rock and roll and fucking in the streets' ... Their revolution ended in chaos after being kicked off two record labels and culminating in the band breaking up, with members descending into heroin addiction and imprisonment. The MC5s never had a hit record, but the three classic albums that they made - and their impassioned philosophy and mythology - inspired bands like the Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones, and Johnny Thunders, all the way through to Julian Cope, The Cult, and Primal Scream.

Here, for the first time ever on the page, is the inside story of one of the most chaotic and revered bands of all time: a band of brothers from Detroit who - like The Stooges - transformed the power of rock 'n roll into a revolutionary force.

Auteur

Wayne Kramer

Texte du rabat

A ROUGH TRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR

Wayne Kramer, legendary guitarist and co-founder of quintessential Detroit proto-punk legends The MC5, tells his story in The Hard Stuff.

'As gripping as it is sobering.'
THE TIMES

'Voyerustically dramatic.'
NEW YORK TIMES

'Eye-opening.'
GUARDIAN

'One of rock's most engaging and readable memoirs.'
ROLLING STONE

'Inspiring and redempetive.'
UNCUT

'An endearing read.'
MOJO

Led by legendary guitarist Wayne Kramer, The MC5 was a reflection of the times: exciting, sexy, violent, out of control - assuring their time in the spotlight would be short-lived.

Kramer's story is a revolutionary one, but it is also the deeply personal struggle of an addict and an artist. From the glory days of Detroit to the junk-sick streets of the East Village, from Key West to Nashville and sunny Los Angeles, in and out of prison and on and off of drugs, his is the classic journeyman narrative, but with a twist: he's here to remind us that revolution is always an option.