boylollipop Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 Did any of you read his book, Stairway to Heaven? - If so, what did you think of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cactus Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 Did any of you read his book, Stairway to Heaven? - If so, what did you think of it? 50% rubbish.....you work out which 50%. Cole did this book to support his heroin habit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boylollipop Posted December 27, 2007 Author Share Posted December 27, 2007 - did they sue for defamation of character? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cactus Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 - did they sue for defamation of character? Page said the book upset him so much he could only read a small part of it, and knew if he read on it would turn into a lawsuit. Then he threw it into the river outside his window.... No legal action was ever taken, and Plant supposedly made the comment that even if it were all false it did wonders for the aura surrounding the band. Plant and Cole ran into each other a few years after the previous book, Hammer of the Gods, was published, (based heavily on interviews with Cole) and Cole appologised, saying he had said what he said because they were paying him and he needed to support his heroin habit. Then a few years after that, Cole's own book came out and was pretty similar. Cole has reportedly been sober for over 15 years, is a born-again Christian and was at the O2 arena gig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Cole appologised, saying he had said what he said because they were paying him and he needed to support his heroin habit. Then a few years after that, Cole's own book came out and was pretty similar. Author Stephen Davis only paid Cole a meager $1,500 for his contributions to Hammer of the Gods, which is why 7 years later he republished his tales in 'Stairway to Heaven', a book of his own. I enjoy both books, but the second one is more comprehensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katuschka Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Did any of you read his book, Stairway to Heaven? - If so, what did you think of it? I think that Mr Cole has a superhuman memory. Either that or he's simply full of poop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 I think that Mr Cole has a superhuman memory. Having contrasted the book against other recollections, accounts and known facts I would say he has a penchant for embellishment and dramaticization. Precision is not a strong suit, but all in all he can and does tell a fascinating tale of what it was like to have lived it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redeyedrichard Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 In on old thread on this very topic I said how could Cole have remembered all of that in such great detail? The guy was strung out on hard drugs 90% of the time. I read the book through and thought it was a fun read...but I took it all with a pinch of salt and only believed half of it...there were a lot of exaggerations. Jimmy was rightly outraged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boylollipop Posted December 29, 2007 Author Share Posted December 29, 2007 I think the book says a lot about Cole. He is the drug addict, who doesn´t know jack shit about music or management. So that´s why we hear about drinking and drugging. Because that´s Cole´s frame of mind. I doubt Led Zeppelin would be such a force today, had they been drugged out. - But that´s the impression you get when you read the book. But it´s Cole´s book. He is the drinker w/ no talent at all. Led Zeppelin is a band w/ world class musicians and world class mangement. That´s the real deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boylollipop Posted December 29, 2007 Author Share Posted December 29, 2007 - So exactly where does Page "extole the virtues of his creativity directly tying some inspiration while he was doing heroin"? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 - So exactly where does Page "extole the virtues of his creativity directly tying some inspiration while he was doing heroin"? lol Sometime Joelmon confuses himself with Jimmy Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cactus Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Jimmy himself has extoled the virtues of his creativity directly tying some inspiration while he was doing heroin. At that's just part of it.... Don't be a revisionist. I don't think he extolled the virtues of drugs but did say they were 'integral to the whole thing', just recently. I think it's a mistake to run down Richard Cole as a drug addict who knew nothing about management and did nothing good for the band, because that's just not true. There are many examples of things Cole did which saved the band from problems...driving their car through a snow storm to get to the airport, all those sorts of stories, as well as providing the band with 'entertainment' on the road. This cannot be discounted. He looked after the band's personal security, averting many possibly dangerous situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotplant Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Yes, Jimmy was a junkie just like Cole. Too bad Jimmy won't write a book to "clear" it all up. A ton of artists have been junkies. Not just the sixties either, way......back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boylollipop Posted December 30, 2007 Author Share Posted December 30, 2007 yeah, but drugs don´t make you successful or talented. If so, Cole would have written the song Stairway to Heaven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knebby Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 I could see the words "the song" in there Joel - couldn't you? Richard Cole gets way too much credit. There are many who could have done his job. How many Jimmy Pages are there in the world though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadScreamingGallery Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Yes, Jimmy was a junkie just like Cole. Too bad Jimmy won't write a book to "clear" it all up. A ton of artists have been junkies. Not just the sixties either, way......back. I like your candor. When I've posted or PMed on such things, I've danced around the word "junkie" referring, instead, to that period when Jimmy was "not well" or "having difficulties." You're right about artists and addictions - the two have been connected for as long as there have been artists (and substances on which to become addicted). Having contrasted the book against other recollections, accounts and known facts I would say he has a penchant for embellishment and dramaticization. Precision is not a strong suit, but all in all he can and does tell a fascinating tale of what it was like to have lived it. I don't think that his "tabloid" style of writing helped matters. If you can cut through the all of the embellishments and dramatizations and imprecision, one can gain a sense of what the scene was like back then. I could see the words "the song" in there Joel - couldn't you? Richard Cole gets way too much credit. There are many who could have done his job. How many Jimmy Pages are there in the world though? In addition to getting way too much credit, I think that Cole gave himself way too much credit in that he seemed to inflate the role that he played and downplayed the fact that, as you say, anyone probably could have filled that job. Peter Grant, I think was an entirely different man and I believe that there are few who could have done what he did for the band. How many Jimmy Pages? Only one. At least in my lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 I think that Cole gave himself way too much credit in that he seemed to inflate the role that he played and downplayed the fact that, as you say, anyone probably could have filled that job. I've always seen it differently because unless one had earned Peter Grant's complete trust and confidence they could not possibly have filled the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninelives Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 I've always seen it differently because unless one had earned Peter Grant's complete trust and confidence they could not possibly have filled the job. No doubt the trust and confidence issue is a huge one, but I do agree that there likely could have been others who would have been able to prove that to Peter and done the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattmc1973 Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 Richard Cole gets way too much credit. There are many who could have done his job. How many Jimmy Pages are there in the world though? I'm sure, but many other people didn't do the job, Grant and the band chose Cole to do it. That's got to count for something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cactus Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 I'm not sure there were too many people who could have done Cole's job. While the technical aspects of Tour/Road Managing is something many people can do, the personalities and management aspects specific to Led Zeppelin took a special type of personality. To get on with Robert & Jimmy, more fragile than the others, and Bonzo who was so boisterous. Don't forget that when JPJ often disappeared for a few days on tour, Cole was the only one with any contact details for him. That says JPJ must have trusted him..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 I'm not sure there were too many people who could have done Cole's job. While the technical aspects of Tour/Road Managing is something many people can do, the personalities and management aspects specific to Led Zeppelin took a special type of personality. To get on with Robert & Jimmy, more fragile than the others, and Bonzo who was so boisterous. Don't forget that when JPJ often disappeared for a few days on tour, Cole was the only one with any contact details for him. That says JPJ must have trusted him..... Your hitting the nail right on the head. Sure, there may have been others who COULD have filled the job, but certainly not anyone and more to the point Cole DID THE JOB. His proper place in the history of the band is very impressive so far as I'm concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gervox Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 Your hitting the nail right on the head. Sure, there may have been others who COULD have filled the job, but certainly not anyone and more to the point Cole DID THE JOB. His proper place in the history of the band is very impressive so far as I'm concerned. I agree. Cole was not what anyone could ever call a nice person. Infact he was once a complete and utter unfeeling bully who didn't spend enough time in prison. As I understand it, he himself eventually realised this, and has obviously made some proactive choices to ensure that he is still alive today.I find that fact amazing in itself, and if he is truly a reformed characture then his skill and no-how is surely second to none!. However,what he can use of what he learned in his "Glory" years in todays climate, is another story entirely!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boylollipop Posted December 31, 2007 Author Share Posted December 31, 2007 I'm not sure there were too many people who could have done Cole's job. While the technical aspects of Tour/Road Managing is something many people can do, the personalities and management aspects specific to Led Zeppelin took a special type of personality. To get on with Robert & Jimmy, more fragile than the others, and Bonzo who was so boisterous. Don't forget that when JPJ often disappeared for a few days on tour, Cole was the only one with any contact details for him. That says JPJ must have trusted him..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kissandra Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 See, now this book I found entertaining. Very funny. I read it in a week. I love Bonzo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knebby Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 I guess its not so funny if the untrue/exaggerrated stories are about you or your family or friends though. Happy New Year Kissy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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