, penned with the help of Joel McIver, covers his career, and life from The late 1960's through to the present day. The fact there is a present day Glenn Hughes is nothing short of a small miracle, a point which is not a minor piece of subtext running through the book.
For Led Zeppelin fans, Glenn Hughes: The Autobiography
is of interest mostly because Hughes plays with Jason Bonham in Black Country Communion, but also because Hughes has a couple of run ins with Led Zeppelin, and John Bonham in particular.In 1971, Bonham turned up at a Trapeze show, Hughes first band. He inserted himself into the drummers chair mid-song and a 15-minute version of Medusa ensued, a song Hughes would later record with Bonham's son in Black Country Communion. Post-show Hughes went back to Bonham's house where they listened to an acetate of Led Zeppelin IV "a good four months before it's global release. We must have heard the album five times. By the time the sun came up, 'When The Levee Breaks' was tattooed on my brain."
A few hours later Robert Plant showed up to take Bonham away on a European tour.
In 1975 Bonham showed up side-stage at Deep Purple show to confront Hughes about an alleged affair with Bonham's wife, which Hughes denies (then and now), and subsequently on to a party at Ron Wood's New York apartment. Later Bonham would punch Hughes and have him kicked out of a Song Remains the Same release party for the same offense.
Then there's this:
You may not believe this, but it's true. In September 1980, I was having a nap in the middle of the day, and I remember Karen coming in and saying, "You'll never guess who's dead." And I said this, out of my sleep: "I know who's dead, it's John Bonham." He'd come to me and whispered in my ear that he'd gone to heaven and told God that he was leaving Led Zeppelin and going to form a new band with Glenn Hughes. And then he said to me, "She's a rich girl now," and that's exactly the dream I had. It came to me while I was sleeping.
It may seem strange that Bonham was in heaven and planning to join a band with the still alive Hughes, but Hughes was by that time mired in addiction problems of his own, mostly cocaine. Who knows what message from beyond John Bonham was trying to tell him.
Hughes addiction problem, coming to grips with it, 20-years wasted, unable to keep a gig, unable to do much of anything but find/take cocaine. Glenn Hughes: The Autobiography
is a cathartic process for Hughes, who makes no apologies and holds nothing back, pointing out secrets are deadly to addicts.Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi says of Hughes in the book:
he'd burned so many bridges over the years that he had to rebuild every one.
That's what this book is, another strut in Glenn Hughes bridge, being rebuilt one strut, one truss at a time. The focus throughout is his addiction, and the consequences thereof.
Glenn Hughes: The Autobiography
is an enjoyable, if sometimes uncomfortable read. Telling the tale of great success and great waste of talent, sometimes all at once. Glenn Hughes has lived one hell of a life, is probably very lucky to be alive (and as anyone who follows Hughes on Facebook or Twitter can tell you, Hughes is very aware of the fact).Or, to paraphrase, Hughes is the messenger, and this book is his prophesy.
