Glenn Hughes: From Deep Purple to Black Country Communion

I recently read this book and I have to say, it was awesome. It wasn't like most rockstar autobiographies; most of those talk about how awesome they became in music, etc.



IDK why, but for his age, he's handsome. Especially when he wears those purple aviator glasses!!

This one about Glenn Hughes tells it like it is. He tells the truth about his various relapses into substance abuse. How he had a heart attack and didn't know what it was. He talked about his relationships, his first marriage to a woman named Karen and how it all fell apart due to his substance abuse issues. He pulls no punches and doesn't deny anything that happened. He also adds little funny random thoughts in here, making it funny in some parts. Like one time after getting his knee operated on, he said he was obliterated out of his mind on painkillers and he was hanging off the second floor balcony of his hotel room in his underwear holding a crutch. He tells that cocaine and speed and whatever other substances he took ruled his life. That when he came down off the drugs, he had an insatiable craving for chocolate. He says that when you come down off drugs, you want something with sugar or fat in it. Because of that, he went into a newsagent one day to get chocolate only to be busted by someone who was supposed to be looking out for him. Not to mention he'll say that when he was high he'd grab a guitar and start singing and playing and writing music. He also adds that the drugs worsened his already hyper personality

He talks about how he ballooned up to 220 lbs and how felt he was unattractive because of his weight. Not to mention, he seems to have a thing for Swedish girls, because two of his relationships were with girls from Sweden. He talks about his love of reading and his interest in spirituality, about finding God and thinking he's saving his life. He credits his sobriety to hard work and God. Which I find incredibly amazing. I've always liked Glenn Hughes; he does amazing covers of songs. I love when he was talking about doing a Christmas album called A Soulful Christmas. He wanted to do it with a soul, R&B, jazz voice and not to do it, to quote him "do it like the rockstars who butchered the Christmas songs". I've listened to that album; pretty good. I'm going to have to go back and listen to more of his stuff now that I read the book.

Throughout the book, you'll see people quoting on him and talking about him. Like his mother Sheila Hughes and father William "Bill" Hughes, Tony Perry, the manager for Trapeze, his first major band, Tony Iommi, when he worked with Glenn on Sabbath's Seventh Star album, various women he was connected with, like Cherrie Curie, who said that when she reconnected with Glenn twenty years after she first met him, she saw him performing on stage and didn't even recognize him because he was overweight when she met him. She described him as a beautiful man with a beautiful voice and was shocked to find out that gorgeous man with a voice like an angel was the man she once knew.

He also says that he describes his drug craze as Jekyll and Hyde. His "Jekyll" side is the kind, sweet, loving Glenn Hughes that everyone loves while the "Hyde" side is the dark demon of his drug abuse, the side that makes him extremely paranoid thanks to the cocaine psychosis and makes him unable to love anyone. Not to mention, one time during one of his drug binges, he managed to set himself on fire, burning his hands and feet. While he was recovering, he went to the funeral of his then wife Karen's father. He says he feels bad about it, that it seemed like it was all about him. He talks about making amends to those he mistreated and that some have long since forgiven him and regained trust in him, which makes him feel good. He also talks about a girlfriend named Christine who berated his parents one day for his behavior. He talks about how his parents mean more to him than precious life itself. Awww. That's so sweet!! Not to mention, his mother and friends all say that he would have been an extremely good, loving father had he not been so far into substance abuse.

In general, he talks about the type of stuff you would find in almost any biography/autobiography. Where he grew up, when he was born, how he got into music, etc. It's a very good book especially if you are a Deep Purple/Glenn Hughes/Trapeze fan!