The Kings of London (36 page)

Few figures have had a bigger influence on the British art scene than Robert Fraser. He was the man who linked the art world of Peter Blake and Richard Hamilton to the Beatles, and the man who gave the Rolling Stones their bohemian credibility through his ultimately destructive relationship with Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg, who were sharing his flat at the time this book is set. He was also the man who hosted Yoko Ono and John Lennon’s joint exhibition ‘You Are Here’ and who gave Gilbert and George their first exhibition. His life is explored in Harriet Vyner’s brilliant aural history
Groovy Bob
. I was delighted to discover that book was edited by Jon Riley, who also edited the book you’ve just read.

Rhodri Pugh is an entirely imagined character, though he would have served under James Callaghan, Labour Home Secretary at the time this book is set. Before becoming Prime Minister in 1976, Callaghan was a key figure in pushing back the so-called British model of drug treatment, in which drug use was regarded as principally a medical problem. In 1971, when James Callaghan introduced the Misuse of Drugs Act, there were fewer than five thousand problematic drug users in the UK. There are now over a quarter of a million, mostly using heroin or cocaine. I owe thanks to Caroline Coon, co-founder of Release, for taking time to talk to me about drug abuse and the state’s response to it in the period the book is set.

The shambolic ‘Alchemical Wedding’ at the Royal Albert Hall was the first time John Lennon and Yoko Ono performed their ‘Bagism’ artwork. The episode in which the police attempted to prevent women taking their clothes off is taken from a contemporary account in
International Times
. The Hell’s Angel who stood up to the police that day is identified as Billy Tumbleweed, aka ‘Sweet William’ Fritsch, the San Francisco Hell’s Angel leader, poet and occasional lover of Janis Joplin. He was also the man employed to organise the Rolling Stones’ lethally slipshod security at Altamont in December 1969.

Huge thanks to Roz Brody, Mike Holmes, Janet King and Chris Sansom for their continued advice and encouragement (particularly Chris, this time, for helping turn the impossible into the plausible); to Laura Wilson, Professor Bernard Knight and Carol Bridgestock for their expert help, and to Jon Riley, Rose Tomaszewska and Nick de Somogyi at Quercus, as well as Joshua Kendall at Mulholland for all their many smart comments. Thanks also, finally, to Jane McMorrow.

William Shaw is an award-winning pop-culture journalist who has has written regularly for
The Observer
(London),
The Independent,
and
The Telegraph,
as well as the
New York Times,
Wired,
and
Details
. He lives in Sussex, England.

williamshaw.com

	@william1shaw
	williamshawwriter

She’s Leaving Home

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The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Copyright © 2015 by William Shaw

Author photograph by Ellen Shaw

Cover design by Matt Tanner

Cover copyright © 2015 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

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First ebook edition: January 2015

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‘Jennifer Eccles’ words and music by Harold Clarke and Graham William Nash. Copyright © 1968 GRALTO MUSIC LTD. Copyright Renewed.

All Rights in the U.S. and Canada Controlled and Administered by UNIVERSAL—SONGS OF POLYGRAM INTERNATIONAL, INC.

All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission. Reprinted by Permission of Hal Leonard Corporation.

‘Ballad of a Thin Man’ by Bob Dylan. Copyright © 1965 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1993 by Special Rider Music. Reprinted by permission.

‘Since You’ve Been Gone’ by Aretha Franklin, reprinted by permission of Sony ATV.

Every attempt has been made to attain licenses to reprint lyrics from the following songs: ‘Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Do’ by Willie Clark and Clarence Reid, Sony ATV; ‘Young Girl’ by Jerry Fuller, Sony ATV. Any omissions should be notified to the publishers, who would be happy to make amendments to future editions.

ISBN 978-0-316-24686-6

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