Just Backdated - Melody Maker: Seven Years in the Seventies
is a memoir by Chris Charlesworth who, between 1970 and 1977, was a staff writer and
editor for
Melody Maker
, the UK's best-selling music weekly in an era when rock stars fell over themselves to appear in its pages. Initially the paper's News Editor, Chris was for four years
MM's
US Editor, based in New York, a unique position in music journalism, and in that time regularly rubbed shoulders with rock's most iconic heroes.
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Rod Stewart, Elton John and dozens more found themselves face to face with Chris. He went on tour in
America with The Who, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and many others. He was at 27 concerts by the original Who, often backstage or onstage. Somewhere above Colorado he took over the controls of Led Zeppelin's private plane. He watched a hitless Elton John at a disastrous festival in 1970 and predicted he would become a star. He chased Bob Dylan in New England and ambushed Pink Floyd in Glasgow. He watched Bruce Springsteen in Norfolk, Virginia, and acclaimed his showmanship 18 months before
Born To Run
was released. He was among the first music writers to write about the nascent CBGBs scene in New York, introducing
MM
readers to Debbie Harry long before she became a household name. His only regret was never seeing Elvis.
tells all these stories and many more. If you wanted to know what it was really like working full-time for a big selling music paper, the topsy-turvy lifestyle that went with it, and - yes - enjoy a meaty, beaty, big and bouncy dollop of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, this is the book for you.