LESLEY-ANN JONES is a British biographer, novelist, broadcaster and keynote speaker.
She honed her craft as a newspaper journalist, on Fleet Street.
Her latest book, 'WHO KILLED JOHN LENNON? THE LIVES, LOVES AND DEATHS OF THE GREATEST ROCK STAR', published by John Blake/Bonnier in hardback, audiobook and Kindle, is out now.
First serialisation rights sold to the Mail on Sunday, published across three pages on 6th September 2020. Second serial went to The Times, featured as a cover story of the T2 Arts section on 11th September 2020. Foreign rights have been acquired by many territories throughout the world, including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, China, Japan and Brazil. Publicity to date includes interviews for the Daily Telegraph, US Publishers Weekly, Austria's ORF TV, Radio Caroline, Talk RADIO, Talk Radio Europe, Ireland's Newstalk Radio and Today FM, and BBC Radio 2's Steve Wright in the Afternoon show. Future engagements, to coincide with what would have been Lennon's 80th birthday, 9th October, and the 40th anniversary of his murder on 8th December, include the Graham Norton Show and Sky News.
Lesley-Ann's debut memoir, 'TUMBLING DICE', is published in paperback original and ebook formats.
First serialisation rights for TUMBLING DICE were acquired by the Mail on Sunday, published across four pages on 7th April 2019. Second serial went to The Times, featured as a double-page spread on 10th April.
The author’s interview with US ABC Radio network is syndicated to 2,000 stations across the United States. She has discussed the book on most BBC local stations, including BBC York, Northampton, Guernsey, Cornwall, Solent, Hereford & Worcester, Derby and Oxford. Live radio exposure continues over the coming weeks, with BBC Radio London’s Robert Elms Show, Wandsworth Radio, Express FM’s The Soft Rock Show, K107FM Scotland, Wycombe Sound, Camglen Radio (Scotland), the Sticks Radio Show & podcast, BBC Radio Kent, Radio Caroline, Talk Radio’s The Paul Ross Show and Talk Radio Europe’s Bill Padley Show.
Lesley-Ann Jones’s agents are currently negotiating with two independent production majors on a screen adaptation of TUMBLING DICE.
www.lesleyannjones.com
Recent books include 'BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY: The Definitive Biography of Freddie Mercury' (Hodder & Stoughton), a Sunday Times Bestseller. Published as 'MERCURY' in the USA, it exists in many translations, including Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Japanese and Lithuanian.
'HERO: David Bowie' (Hodder & Stoughton).
'RIDE A WHITE SWAN: The Lives & Death of Marc Bolan' (Hodder & Stoughton).
'IMAGINE', a novel (Mulcahy Books).
She is a mother of three, and lives in London.
REVIEWS
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY: FREDDIE MERCURY
'MERCURY' goes beyond the glittering facade to get an unvarnished look at Queen's rise to fame, the loves of Mercury's life and his fraught relationship with his conservative past, creating a complete portrait of this magnetic musician. METRO SOURCE, NEW YORK
Truly definitive, truly Freddie, an energetic, entertaining and essential account.
SIR TIM RICE
This book grabs you with its opening, then builds. Insight and anecdote in perfect harmony.
SIMON NAPIER-BELL
The sort of tribute Mercury himself would have wanted … full of perceptive and moving insights.
SPECTATOR
One of the best biographies I have read recently is Lesley-Ann Jones's biography of Freddie Mercury, published to coincide with the 20th anniversary of his death. No-one has captured better the magical, enchanting dualism of Freddie Mercury - the mystery of the battle between dark and light that is at the heart of the Zoroastrian religion of his birth as well as of his own life. To read this book is to rejoice that such a man ever lived and sang, while at the same time to be overwhelmed once more at the grief of his death and what took him from us. The author has the rare gift of being scrupulously honest about the subject, while maintaining throughout a kindliness that reflects truly the ruthless charm at the heart of all he did.
RUTH GLEDHILL, SUNDAY TIMES
HERO: DAVID BOWIE
Published by Hodder & Stoughton September 2016. Voted one of the Top Ten Music Books of 2016 by the London Evening Standard, and also one of their Top Eight Biographies/Memoirs.
Lesley-Ann Jones knew Bowie from childhood. They became friends, and he inspired her to become a music journalist. Her biography is a very personal portrait that explores the real man behind the spaceman, the countless facets of his self- reinvention, the golden years and the wilderness periods, his torments and triumphs, his music, artistry and personal life.
Through several interviews with Bowie she evocatively portrays his fascinating life, often with a tenderness you wouldn’t expect.
DAILY EXPRESS
This is a fascinating insight into one of greatest artists of our lifetime.
EVENING STANDARD
If you knew nothing about Bowie, this is the biography to read. If you thought you knew everything about Bowie, this is even more the biography to read.
SIR TIM RICE
An intriguing book. This is a personal friendship in writing. The knowledge divulged here is an endearing and powerful tale of a man who conquered the entire entertainment industry with his creative force.
HENRY DEAS, VARIETY
RIDE A WHITE SWAN: THE LIVES & DEATH OF MARC BOLAN:
I remember the time I spent with Marc and June in the late ’60s with massive affection.
It was a wonderful, exciting and creative time. Lesley-Ann Jones captures perfectly the spirit of the time, and tells beautifully the wider story of Marc's extraordinary life.
BOB HARRIS OBE
Important missing pieces of the complicated short life that was Marc Bolan's. It is a sensational read... What I especially love is that this new book comes from a woman's point of view. She tells Marc's story in a very nurturing and loving way. I highly recommend it to all Marc Bolan fans.
TONY VISCONTI - RECORD PRODUCER: DAVID BOWIE, MARC BOLAN, MORRISSEY
Brimming with insight from family members, friends, managers, musicians, and white-knuckled rock and rollercoaster riders who shared the dips and dives of Bolanmania, this book is a cracker of a read.
KEITH ALTHAM - ROCK WRITER & PRESS AGENT: THE WHO, THE ROLLING STONES, BEACH BOYS, SMALL FACES, VAN MORRISON & MARC BOLAN.
Lesley-Ann Jones brings my old friend almost back to life in this brilliantly observed and detailed account of a fascinating man who lived an all-too-short life. The first book to show us the real Marc.
STEVE HARLEY - COCKNEY REBEL
A brilliantly documented and beautifully-written account of one of our greatest music legends.
PHIL SWERN - PRODUCER, BBC RADIO 2
IMAGINE:
Real, surreal and uniquely chilling!
BRIAN MAY, QUEEN
Rock stars: check. Murder: check. Sex: check. What’s not to like? Lesley-Ann brings the rock’n’roll lifestyle alive in this page-turner.
NODDY HOLDER MBE, ROCK STAR, ACTOR, PRODUCER, PRESENTER
Lesley-Ann Jones has written a first-time classic. She extricates the glam out of every piece of grunge in this rock’n’roll myth-fest. Imagine broke my heart, and rebuilt it again, until it became like a favourite song: repeating over and over in a dreamlike paradise.
LEO SAYER, SINGER SONGWRITER
What a read! This book is funny, frightening, and terrifyingly accurate. It feels like I know everyone in it.
ED BICKNELL, FORMER MANAGER, DIRE STRAITS, MARK KNOPFLER, BRYAN FERRY, GERRY RAFFERTY, & HEAD OF WILLIAM MORRIS ENDEAVOUR EUROPE
An irresistible rock’n’roll cocktail of fact and fiction, expertly mixed. Take one sip and prepare yourself for a ‘lock-in’ …
KIM WILDE, POP STAR AND ‘80S ICON
Do you remember where you were the day John Lennon died? Lesley-Ann Jones was right bloody next to him. An amazing story told in an amazing way. Unputdownable.
SIMON NAPIER-BELL, MANAGER OF THE YARDBIRDS, MARC BOLAN, JAPAN, WHAM!, GEORGE MICHAEL & SINÉAD O’CONNOR
A superb mixture of truth and nothing-like-the-truth. Imagine is the best possible combination you can have in any read.
RICK WAKEMAN, MUSICIAN AND GRUMPY OLD MAN
Rock hard, rock soft, and everything in between. It's all here between the 'sheets' … Enjoy!!!
SUZI QUATRO, rock legend
