Listen free for 30 days

  • Lonely Boy

  • Tales from a Sex Pistol
  • Written by: Steve Jones
  • Narrated by: Steve Jones
  • Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (31 ratings)

1 credit a month, good for any title to download and keep.
The Plus Catalogue—listen all you want to thousands of Audible Originals, podcasts, and audiobooks.
$14.95 a month plus applicable taxes after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
Lonely Boy cover art

Lonely Boy

Written by: Steve Jones
Narrated by: Steve Jones
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $37.16

Buy Now for $37.16

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

Ask anyone who knows about music, and they'll tell you: Without Steve Jones punk rock would not exist. This is not hyperbole. No Steve Jones, no punk rock. Period. The prototypical street urchin turned Sex Pistols guitarist was the sole inspiration and creator of the punk movement that began shaking the culture in late 1970s London and is just as strong today.

A pervasive air of gloom and coal smoke hangs over Jones' memoir, Lonely Boy, which is set mostly in working-class London of the '60s and '70s. For the first time ever, he'll illustrate a moment in time when the actions of a loose association of people became the full-fledged punk scene we know so well today. Legendary artist and trendsetter Malcolm McLaren took in the young Jones after noticing him hanging around the sex boutique McLaren owned with his then girlfriend, Vivienne Westwood, on Kings Road in Chelsea. By then Jones was basically homeless, stealing anything and everything to support himself and scratch his itch for theft. He would frequently pop in to McLaren's legendary shop. McLaren was so fascinated by Jones' rough background, wardrobe choices, attitude toward authority, and general aura that he created a cultural movement around it. And so the Sex Pistols, and with them punk rock, was born.

Included in the audiobook are never before told stories of sexual abuse Steve suffered at the hands of his stepfather, stories of petty crime and acts of perversion he perpetrated as a young boy in London, the sadness of never knowing his real father (and then meeting him in a tale that bookends this narrative nicely), the early days as a Pistol, breaking into the music business, and how the hell a band with one album meant so much to so many people. Jones will also bring listeners up to speed on his more recent exploits, such as hosting a legendary radio show on KROQ, Jonesy's Jukebox; beginning an acting career by playing Krull on Showtime's Californication; his recovery from both sexual and substance addictions; and his attempts to fall in with the hair metal crowd of the Sunset Strip in the 1980s.

You may be asking why Steve has waited until now to write his memoir, and you wouldn't be wrong in asking that. The thing is, I'm not sure we have a good answer. He just feels like now is the time, that most of what he wants to and will achieve in his life has happened, and his current existence lends itself to reflection and sharing. He hopes to do that with listeners the world over. There's also still an intense appetite for punk rock everywhere you look, and he'd like to educate some young people on where it all started, from the guy who inspired the whole scene.

No topic is off limits in this grimy, streetwise memoir.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2017 Steve Jones (P)2017 Hachette Audio

More from the same

What listeners say about Lonely Boy

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    25
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    22
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    23
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved It!

Steve Jones was a straight up badass slut! Loved It!! Fascinating old stories. Extremely happy to hear he got sober and dealt with some of his demons

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thank God for Jonesy!!

The man shines, in Rock & Roll truth, and honesty. Working class to the end. Like his guitar, he tells his story, like a ringing a bell. Wonderful.

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great bio




Honest and often very funny, great stories, what a life, thank you Mr. Jones

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good story for a long time fan.

Great story for a long drive. Been a fan for sinking and most things Sex Pistols is about Did John or Malcolm.

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

God save Steve Jones

And God Save his radio show. Brilliant book. Why does a review have to be 15 words?

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Stories!

A great listen! Steve Jones has led a very eventful life. He gives a matter of fact description of some pretty horrific stuff, but keeps it from getting overwhelming. Amusing to hear about his current life as a Southern California gentleman!

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Charrie
  • Charrie
  • 2017-01-11

Criminally Addictive....

Where does Lonely Boy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 5 of all time.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Lonely Boy?

The stories of his childhood, dealing with re-hab, and his struggle with the band.

What about Steve Jones’s performance did you like?

His delivery was perfection. All of those years of radio prepared him well. It was honest, authentic and credible.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

My extreme reaction was addiction. I couldn't turn it off until I finished it. I was humbled by his honesty and touched by his recovery.

Any additional comments?

I'm still reeling from how incredible this book was. I'm trying to determine whether or not I'm surprised. He's always been an incredibly unique and talented character, whether it be from the standpoint of a musician, actor, radio personality and now author....so I suppose it is in his blood. I loved it though...I really, truly loved it.

I pre-ordered the audio version from Audible.com. Hearing him tell his own story, accent and rhyming slang included, makes the book all that more authentic and credible.

I started at 4 in the morning on the date of its release and skipped work to finish it about ten hours later. I couldn't put it down. It is so well written and so well executed. The last book I couldn't put down was "Diary of a Rock n' Roll Star" by Ian Hunter and I was 15 then. That's not to say that I don't read...lol...I finished both Springsteen and Sebastian Bach's books this month. They were both very good, but neither compared to this. It's like the horse that comes in first at the Kentucky Derby...the second and third place finishers were only fractions of a second behind...but the winner seems to be in a class all it's own.

I don't want to give anything away and I had too many favorite parts of Lonely Boy to mention anyway, but I will tell you that he does an amazing job of shining light in the darkest corners of his life and bringing clarity and understanding to a number of crushing events that many of us have experienced in our own lives. All of those parts were really, really cool.

In a nutshell, Steve Jones has a lot of wisdom now...feels kinda funny to say that about a Sex Pistol....but, he does. It hasn’t changed him much on the outside though. He’s still as funny, still as shocking and I imagine will remain as wickedly entertaining until the day that he is ‘Brown Bread’ himself.

Forget giving it a 10...this one goes to 11 for me.

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Ewenanne
  • Ewenanne
  • 2017-01-30

Love Steve Jones Even More Now!

I've been a long time fan of Steve Jones'. I listen to Jonesy's Jukebox, have all of his albums, devoted to his Instagram account and now... This book humanized him even more. I could listen to this over and over! To be honest, I've even purchased the print version. If you're a fan of his, or of punk or of life - do yourself a favour and get this book!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Dunnacks-Books
  • Dunnacks-Books
  • 2022-04-29

Much better then I thought it would be.

A behind the scenes look we would otherwise never get to know of. How the h@ll did this happen? Read on. Thanks Steve.

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Anonymous User
  • Anonymous User
  • 2021-06-06

Great Story

Thank you Steve for doing this in your own words! Loved every minute and couldn't wait to hear the next. Good job at creating a life you're now proud of. And thanks for rocking me through my angry youth! There's no other band like The Sex Pistols. You truly changed the world!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Denise
  • Denise
  • 2023-01-20

really wonderful

thank you Steve, enjoyed your book immensely; your candor and honest opinions are very much appreciated by this reader.

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for MDC
  • MDC
  • 2022-12-16

great book read by the author

as a long time pistol fan I must say this book was awesome. the fact that Steve read it himself is only a plus.

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Amazon Customer
  • Amazon Customer
  • 2022-11-15

Honest, raw, brave, and funny account by a legend

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Steve Jones about his life. It’s such a raw and honest account. He keeps it real, even when it’s not pretty. What a legend!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Catherine Lane
  • Catherine Lane
  • 2022-09-20

Long on charm, short on details

Loved Jonesie's Cockney wit and accent. He's a fun raconteur, but because of the drugs, he doesn't have the recall that you'd want for an in-depth look at his life and times. He never falls in love, never has any longterm relationships, yet includes several photos of important women in his life in the attached photo album. He started therapy late in life, so self-reflection is new to him, but I think a ghostwriter could have helped him fill in the blanks. Or he could have done what Nikki Sixx did for his book, ask friends to write short essays on those moments that he couldn't remember well. If you liked 'Pistol', you'll like this source material, but his podcast is better.

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Joao Escovar
  • Joao Escovar
  • 2022-09-17

Amazing Book and Narration of the man himself

Its great to hear Steve Jones tell his story and the sex pistols story. He had a tough life and lived all the dirt and the excess of a junkie rock n roll life but he is honest nothing to hide here.

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Amazon Customer
  • Amazon Customer
  • 2022-09-05

Fantastic

This book is hilarious. Get it if you like the Sex Pistols. It's told from Jonesy's point of view.