Lick Me: How I Became Cherry Vanilla

Cherry Vanilla’s memoir takes us from the birth of rock to the explosion of punk, with memorable detours through the sexual revolution, the women’s lib movement, and the Theater of the Ridiculous. A wunderkind on Madison Avenue in the swinging sixties, Cherry found fame as a DJ in clubs in Manhattan and on the French Riviera, starred in Andy Warhol’s Pork in London, and gained notoriety as a groupie. Working as David Bowie’s PR rep (and occasional lover), she played a major part in introducing him to the US market. She was one of the few successful women in punk; her backing band was the Police. But from unwanted pregnancies to poverty and public ridicule, Lick Me also takes us through Cherry’s challenges and reveals the full life of a woman who fearlessly lived her dreams.

Cherry Vanilla is an actress, a poet, a publicist, a singer, and a songwriter. In the 1970s, she fronted a rock band—which included Stewart Copeland and Sting of the Police—and released two albums, Bad Girl and Venus d'Vinyl. Over the years, she also projects with jazz great Chet Baker and director Tim Burton before establishing Europa Entertainment, Inc. She lives in Los Angeles. Rufus Wainwright is a Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter. He lives in New York City.