Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol - Hardcover

Steve Jones was born in West London in 1955. He formed the Sex Pistols in 1975 with Paul Cook, Glen Matlock, and John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon (adding John Simon Ritchie, aka Sid Vicious, in 1977 after Matlock's departure) and was their guitarist until the band broke up in 1978. He is a musician, record producer, and actor. Jones lives in Los Angeles where he hosts the radio show Jonesy's Jukebox.

Radio X, 9/16/16
From being a young oik in Hammersmith to being a sex addicted, burnt out addict in LA, Steve Jones has led a bloody interesting life. He was the man who kick started the Sex Pistols, one of the most influential bands in British music and ended up as one of the least likely guitar heroes in rock 'n' roll.”


"A raw, vanity-free dive into a life marred by an abused childhood, petty crime and addictions to drink, drugs and sex, but rescued by Jones's relentless aspiration for a better life."
―London Times Magazine, 11/5/16

"A hilarious and at times harrowing read."
―MOJO

"Jones's autobiography is anything but quaint...His book's title speaks volumes, although these stories are told without sadness...Through the fame years, Lonely Boy is often eye-wateringly funny...He's 'a semi-retired sexual deviant who doesn't really act out so much any more,' which is sensible. His book's a delight."
―The Guardian

"A brutally frank ¬autobiography."
―The Mirror

"The Sex Pistols guitarist details his life-an impoverished Sixties childhood, sexual abuse and dalliances with crime-in a way that is both moving and candid."―The Telegraph, "Top 50 Books of the Year 2016"


"An absolute riot of revelation...[Jones] owns up to his failings with a colourful candour that is moving."

―The Telegraph, "Best Rock Biographies and Music Books for Christmas 2016"

"Never Mind the Bollocks, here's a great Sex Pistols memoir...Paints a portrait of just how 'dangerous' punk rockers and punk music were in the UK during the mid and late '70s, when it always had a harder, more political edge than U.S. punk...Jones's memoir is-like a great punk-rock song-short, hard-hitting and Pretty Decent."

―Houston Press


"With his memoir,...Jones elucidates the Dickensian childhood that underpins his band's glamorous nihilism as well as the multiple addictions-heroin, alcohol, stealing, and sex-that almost took him to an early grave."

―GoodReads.com

"A bloody good story...Jones' own voice speaks loud and clear throughout Lonely Boy, a brutally honest and level-headed memoir."
―Record Collector