[author blurb from Teenage]
Jon Savage is a writer and broadcaster. After graduating from Cambridge he published a fanzine called London’s Outrage, and worked for Sounds, Melody Maker and The Face. His first book, The Kinks: The Official Biography was followed by England’s Dreaming, the award-winning history of the Sex Pistols, punk and Britain in the late seventies. He regularly writes for The Observer and Mojo, and his television credits include the BAFTA winning Arena documentary, The Brian Epstein Story. His recent compilation CDs include England’s Dreaming, Meridian 1970 and Shadows of Love. He lives in Anglesey.
Agent for film and television: Rachel Daniels at Berlin Associates, email: racheld@berlinassociates.com
Agent for books: Tony Peake at Peake Associates, email: tony@tonypeake.com
[Waterstone's Q&A]
What was your favourite childhood book?
The Wind In The Willows. During adolescence, the Gormenghast trilogy.
Which book has made you laugh?
—
Which book has made you cry?
Inge Aicher-Scholl, The White Rose.
Which book would you never have on your bookshelf?
Nothing toxic: no white supremacists, neo-cons, or occultists thank you. Although it’s not an obsession, I don’t have much middle-brow either.
Which book are you reading at the moment?
Erik Davis, “Led Zeppelin IV”; Keith Lowe, “Inferno: The Devastation of Hamburg 1943″, Frederick Taylor, “The Berlin Wall”.
Which book would you give to a friend as a present?
John Rechy, Numbers. I always buy a copy when I see it. Fantastic book: one of the truest ever written about what it is to be gay.
Which other writers do you admire?
Usually dead. Scott Fitzgerald, for one. John Dos Passos, Sinclair Lewis: those sweeping US writers of the 20’s. Classic science fiction writers like Olaf Stapledon and John Wyndham. Expose writers like William Burroughs and John Rechy as above: I met him and he was a gentleman. (A rare occurrence: meeting your heroes is not a good idea). I like to read crime novels for distraction, so Ross MacDonald, James Ellroy, P.D.James in their very different ways.
Which classic have you always meant to read and never got round to it?
Proust: A la recherche du temps perdu. I’ve read through the Anthony Powell sequence and it’s pretty good.
What are your top five books of all time, in order or otherwise?
Oh that’s too hard. It changes all the time. I would have to give a special mention to Ian MacDonald’s Revolution In The Head, just because I reread it constantly. He was a friend of mine and I miss trading ideas with him.
What is the worst book you have ever read?
I try to avoid bad books. But I did read Nick Hornby’s “31 Songs”. Truly terrible.
Is there a particular book or author that inspired you to be a writer?
Probably Scott Fitzgerland, Aldous Huxley, John Rechy, William Burroughs and as far as pop, Greil Marcus and Lester Bangs – the Rolling Stone writers of the late sixties.
What is your favourite time of day to write?
12-3 and 5.30-7.30. It’s quite a rigid routine.
And favourite place?
Upstairs in my office, overlooking Snowdonia and the Menai Straits. The window is small, so the view is not distracting. But I’m aware of weather and time of day.
Longhand or word processor?
Mac. My handwriting is illegible.
Which fictional character would you most like to have met?
Andy Warhol.
Who, in your opinion, is the greatest writer of all time?
I couldn’t answer that: it’s outside my consciousness.
Which book have you found yourself unable to finish?
Can’t think of one: I like to finish what I begin. If it’s boring, you can just speed read.
What is your favourite word?
Yes.
Other than writing, what other jobs or professions have you undertaken or considered?
Trained as a solicitor, quit on attaining qualification, also worked in newspapers, magazines, and television.
What was the first piece you ever had in print?
Professionally, in Sounds April 1977 as part of a round-up about ‘Images of the New Wave”: interview with Wire. Various school mags and college mags, punk fanzine “London’s Outrage” December 1976. The very first piece would have been a critique of the film “Woodstock” in my school magazine during 1970: I didn’t like it.
What are you working on at the moment?
Have been working on “Teenage: The Creation of Youth, 1975-1945″ for several years. Have also just completed filming on a film documentary about Joy Division for cinematic release later this year. To come: a book for Faber including all the interviews for “England’s Dreaming”.