David Hepworth is a talented, world class music journalist. He began his career in journalism writing for the NME and Sounds (two of the classic UK music “inkies”). He joined Smash Hits magazine in 1979, and having turned it around financially and made it profitable, became its editor. He was behind the launch of a number of very successful music related magazines including, two of my favourites, Q (1986) and Mojo (1993). He has written for the UK newspaper The Guardian. He was a presenter of the long running BBC music show The Old Grey Whistle Test. He has been on other TV productions too, more of that later. Hepworth has also written some great books about music and the social history associated with it. I have read many of them; ‘Never a Dull Moment: 1971 The Year That Rock Exploded’ (2016), ‘Uncommon People: The Rise and Fall of the Rock Stars 1955-1994’ (2017), ‘A Fabulous Creation: How the LP Saved Our Lives’ (2019), and ‘Overpaid, Oversexed and Over There: How a Few Skinny Brits with Bad Teeth Rocked America’ (2020)
Now he has a new book, ‘Hope I Get Old Before I Die: Why Rock Stars Never Retire’. This is a tome that describes rock music’s third act. This is the sense that rock and roll never died, as predicted in the fifties and early sixties, but neither did so many of the young people (mostly men) that played a part in rock’s continued longevity. Back in 1965 when a 21 year old Roger Daltrey sang a 20 year old Pete Townshend’s classic line, “I hope I die before I get old” in the Who’s biggest hit single in the 60s, “My Generation” who might have guessed that they would still be performing the song in the 21st century. Daltrey is now 81 and Townshend is 79. Hepworth was one of the anchor’s of the broadcast of Live Aid in 1985. Hepworth’s new book begins at Live Aid with the sight of Paul McCartney closing the British leg of the show. Macca was seen as the grand old man of rock. Back then he was just 43. Now, 25 years into the 21st century we have many rock stars that are way beyond pensionable age. This is definitely not something most of us imagined back in the 60s and 70s. As a result many rock stars have become a part of the establishment with many receiving knighthoods and other royal honours.
I have loved all the books by David Hepworth that I have read so far, especially this new one. I love his take on the world of music and his immense depth of knowledge of the subject. Many times I have pondered on the fact that rock stars are living to ripe old ages and still performing and producing new music. In some cases this music is the finest of their long careers. Will today’s younger rock stars last as long as the rock ‘n’ roll pension brigade? I suspect that they will and I think Mr. Hepworth believes the same. In fact he talks of the possibility of technology giving rock stars a kind of immortality. Take a look at Abba Voyage for example. If you love great music, great music writing and if you have ever pondered about how rock stars are getting so old you will love this book! Click on Diversion Books to find a place to buy it for yourself!
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