Ticket to Ride - Softcover

Graham Sclater

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0954594576 ISBN 13: 9780954594572

Publisher: Flame Books Ltd, 2006

Synopsis

"'Ticket to Ride' is a satisfying filthy yet delightfully innocent romp through the bars and clubs of the late 60's Germany as the Cheetahs, a young band from a small town in southern England chase their dreams along the trail blazed by the Beatles in Hamburg. Along the way they discover the realities of life on the road in all of its... DIRT & GRIT - SEX & DRUGS - LIFE & DEATH - ROCK & ROLL ... and it's all here in one gangster and hooker infested plate of reality, which was the Reeperbahn at that time... Pulling no punches, telling it like it was Sclater, who lived and played in this world himself for much of the 60's, tells us first hand through the eyes of characters based on real life kids who grew up fast faced with this in at the deep end roller-coaster ride of debauchery and ultimate demise. Not all doom and gloom though as the tale takes us beyond Hamburg with occasional human kindness and discoveries of new loves of the strangest kind. You'll be pulled into their world and the Horrors & Highlights befalling Reg, Jimmy, Adrian, Gerry and their leader Dave and their ever changing entourage, will keep you reading as the pace moves on just quickly enough to keep you hooked, never overblown with drama but full of the contrast between the naivety of our characters and the grittiness of events, mostly recognisable to anyone who's spent any time in the live music business, here, however, experienced in extremis. This book will leave you amazed that any of them survived, not all of them did, and there is a certain sadness to the conclusion, alien to any Hollywood version of books like this, but it's a melancholy which gives this slice of modern history the humanity it deserves. 'Don't let your kids join a rock band Mrs Worthington!'" Dean G Hill

About this title

About the Author:

Graham Sclater lived and worked as a musician in Hamburg and touring Germany for much of the sixties playing Hammond organ before working as a session musician playing with artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Elton John, James Taylor, Ritchie Blackmore, Christine Perfect and many more. In 1976 he formed Tabitha Music Limited a music publisher and record label where he produced numerous albums which were released around the world. Still very active in the music business in 2011 he signed Bo Walton and since then has released several singles and his "Hit" album "Waiting on a dream." Graham has written a number of screenplays and TV series and published three novels to date and "Ticket to Ride" has been reissued in 2012 following its original publication by Flame Books back in 2006. This extended version contains photographs, interviews and reviews of the book.

About this edition

• Publisher: Flame Books Ltd
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0954594576
• ISBN 13: 9780954594572
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 307