Overpaid, Oversexed and Over There, David Hepworth
Overpaid, Oversexed and Over There, David Hepworth
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Overpaid, Oversexed and Over There
How a Few Skinny Brits with Bad Teeth Rocked America

Author: David Hepworth

Narrator: David Hepworth

Unabridged: 11 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/17/2020


Synopsis

Brought to you by Penguin.

The Beatles landing in New York in February 1964 was the opening shot in a cultural revolution nobody predicted. Suddenly the youth of the richest, most powerful nation on earth was trying to emulate the music, manners and the modes of a rainy island that had recently fallen on hard times.

The resulting fusion of American can-do and British fuck-you didn't just lead to rock and roll's most resonant music. It ushered in a golden era when a generation of kids born in ration card Britain, who had grown up with their nose pressed against the window of America's plenty, were invited to wallow in their big neighbour's largesse.

It deals with a time when everything that was being done - from the Beatles playing Shea Stadium to the Rolling Stones at Altamont, from the Who performing their rock opera at the Metropolitan Opera House to David Bowie touching down in the USA for the first time with a couple of gowns in his luggage - was being done for the very first time.

Rock and roll would never be quite so exciting again.

© David Hepworth 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

About David Hepworth

David Hepworth is a music journalist, writer, and publishing industry analyst who has launched several successful British magazines. He presented the definitive BBC rock music program Whistle Test and anchored the coverage of Live Aid in '85. He has won Editor and Writer of the Year awards from the Professional Publishers Association and the Mark Boxer Award from the British Society of Magazine Editors. He is the radio columnist for the Guardian and a media correspondent for the newspaper, and the author of Never a Dull Moment.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Matt on August 27, 2021

An ok read, but not one of Hepworth’s best, a collection of well worn stories from the various waves of British musicians who have found fame, and sometimes, misfortune in the US. In some early chapters, Hepworth starts to sound a bit of a dirty old Uncle, especially in audiobook form, sat in the co......more

Goodreads review by Keely on March 05, 2022

In Overpaid, Oversexed and Over There, music writer David Hepworth traces the various waves of the British Invasion, from the Beatles' arrival in America in February 1964, to the moment in 1983 when British New Wave acts accounted for nearly half of Billboard's Top 40. Along the way, he considers a......more

Goodreads review by Mat on September 19, 2020

Hepworth’s tale of the British Invasion in the 60s and his analysis of the course and varying levels of success of British pop and rock acts from 1964 to 1984 may be very familiar. What sets this book apart is the freshness that Hepworth brings: his writing is sparkling and personal; his anecdotes w......more

Goodreads review by Ross on January 07, 2021

I must admit to being a fan of David Hepworth's writing, having read his last four books, I was eagerly anticipating reading this one also. In this book he examines the bands that left England's shores to find fame and fortune in America starting with the Beatles in 1964 through to Boy George and cu......more

Goodreads review by Terje on October 08, 2021

Igjen har David Hepworth skrevet en veldig fin bok om pop og rock. Denne gangen er temaet den engelske populærkulturelle invasjonen av USA, en invasjon som startet med The Beatles sitt besøk på Ed O'Sullivan show i 1964. Bakteppet den gangen var at England var kulturelt tilbakestående, USA var et fy......more


Quotes

David Hepworth's books go against one of the core rules of rock & roll. You are supposed to get worse the more you release. He doesn't seem to get that. This latest may be his best. Where's the tradition in that? Danny Baker

Hepworth's ability to mock subjects he has a clear affection for and cast well-worn anecdotes in a fresh light makes his history of rock'n'roll's special relationship a zippy delight The Times

A waspish and witty book The Herald

Fascinating and entertaining Hot Press Magazine

Another tremendously enjoyable read, full of good stories, expertly told: in other words, satisfaction guaranteed The Spectator