Sympathy for the Devil: The Birth of the Rolling Stones and the Death of Brian Jones

The story of the Rolling Stones is one of the epic rock 'n' roll yarns of our time. Their music defined today's cultural landscape and their history is a source of endless fascination for music fans around the world. Yet one crucial part of that story has never been comprehensively analysed: the role of Brian Jones, the visionary who founded the band and controlled their early music down to the smallest detail.

Drawing on over one hundred interviews with key principals including Keith Richards, Andrew Oldham and Marianne Faithfull, this is a story told from a totally new perspective and which lays bare the shocking ruthlessness, internal warfare and sexual competition within this most legendary of bands. As well as exploring Jones' crucial role in the Stones' music, it will also investigate the unravelling of his psyche, as observed by Brian's family, friends, bandmates, lovers and enemies.

Victors get to write the history - but it's never wholly true. Brian's life story is a gripping one, an epic battle between creativity and ambition, between self-sabotage and betrayal. This book will disentangle the threads of the Rolling Stones story and put Brian Jones firmly in the foreground.

Paul Trynka is a respected music writer, known both for his groundbreaking role as editor of MOJO magazine and as author of Starman and Open Up and Bleed, biographies of David Bowie and Iggy Pop which attracted laudatory reviews worldwide. Portrait of the Blues, his collection of oral histories with over 60 blues musicians (a collaboration with photographer Val Wilmer) is regarded as a landmark work. Paul was also editor of the widely respected International Musician magazine, and founding editor of The Guitar Magazine, for which he first interviewed Keith Richards over 20 years ago. Paul lives with his wife, Lucy, and son, Curtis, in Greenwich, London, just down the road from Mick and Keith's old stomping ground of Dartford.